Too Good To Be True
by animalcrazy10102
Summary: Sequel to If All Hope Were Lost!!!! Fifteen years after the final defeat of Voldemort, Harry receives a warning that his children are in danger, but will he be able to help them, or will he be too late?
1. Prologue

Chapter 1-Prologue  
  
Fifteen years It is hard to believe, but it was been fifteen years ago that he-who-must- not-be-named and his followers known as death eaters, the most evil wizard the world had ever seen was finally defeated by Harry Potter, also known as the-boy-who-lived. Following the attack that occurred on March 4, and the subsequent disappearance of Harry Potter and you-know-who, the remaining supporters of the dark lord set out on a quest to find their master and restore him to power over the wizarding world, a plan that was brought to an end on this day fifteen years ago. Everyone knows the story of Harry Potter and the events that occurred on that fateful Christmas morning, how those closest to him were taken from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and he left in search of them before they could be harmed by the death eaters who were searching for a way to resurrect their master, who was destroyed by Mr. Potter during his sixth year at the school after a three month period of imprisonment and torture by his hands, even though it was an obvious trap for the famous wizard. The events that occurred after this are known only by those who were present, but it is a known fact that the death eaters murdered young Mr. Potter, and somehow, they were all killed as well, allowing those they had captured to leave their prison with the body of the young hero. Several days later, many of you were probably present at the funeral and watched as the hero of the wizarding world was laid to rest, but we were all in for yet another surprise when the-boy-who- lived walked into the great hall of Hogwarts and proved to the students and staff that he was very much alive. How this occurred is still a mystery to the majority of us, but we are indeed happy that the events of that time fourteen years ago turned out the way that they did, allowing Mr. Potter to continue with a life that was denied him for too long. Today, Harry Potter is professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, a position he has held with his godfather Sirius Black since the year after he graduated, though only part time, and in addition to his teaching, Harry is also a very well respected auror for the Ministry of Magic as head of their Defense division. His wife of fourteen years, Virginia, has held the position of astronomy professor for the past seven years, and his children, Lily and James (named after his late parents) are currently in their third year at the school. We here at the Daily Prophet would like to congratulate Mr. Potter on his successful career and family and wish him luck and happiness in his future.  
  
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A/N: Ok, first off, sorry it took so long to get this out, but life has been crazy to say the least. Those of you who read my first story might remember that I got a horse a few months ago, well it turns out that she was pregnant and now I have 2 horses, and due to this, I have been at the barn non stop for the past several weeks, but enough of that, I hope you enjoy this story as well, and yes, I will post the actual first chapter now and as the story gets going, the chapters will get longer, but while you're waiting, I started another story, so check it out and let me know what you think! 


	2. Catching Up With the Times

Chapter 2-Catching Up With The Times  
  
"Do you think we should add this to the collection?" asked Ginny with a smile on her face as she waved the article in front of her husbands face  
  
"What collection?" asked Snape from Harry's other side before he had an opportunity to respond to his wife  
  
"Oh, well, after Harry disappeared the first time, during his sixth year, Sirius and Remus started a collection of the articles that came out about him" explained Ginny as Harry banged his head repeatedly into the hard surface of the staff table, earning him several amused looks from the other professors and several students.  
  
"I believe that we have a grand total of sixteen albums right now" added Remus smugly  
  
"Seventeen" corrected Sirius in an offhand manner as he took another bite of his breakfast  
  
"Oh, sorry, seventeen, I must have lost count" admitted Remus with mock embarrassment as he saw Harry bang his head into the table again  
  
"I must say, Potter, that I never thought you would allow them to collect those articles. Do they keep your fan mail as well?" Snape asked with a smirk on his sallow face  
  
"No, Ginny is kind enough to have all of that in a box in the attic, well, all but those who ask me to leave her and marry them instead, she burns those and sends a howler to the person who sent it" he answered with a smile, causing the potions master to break out into a fit of laughter.  
  
"When do you have to go to the ministry?" asked Sirius once the laughter had died down enough to be heard  
  
"Not until this weekend, Draco and Ron are handling things for now" answered Harry "Hermione, Ron said to tell you that he'd be here by dinner and that he was sorry he missed you this morning" he added to his best friend who smiled in response  
  
"Good, I was probably in my classroom when he called through the fire, but I'm sure Jasmine would love to see him" she said as her eyes landed on the auburn haired fourth year at the Gryffindor table. Harry's gaze followed hers and he looked at the girl, noticing just how much she looked like both Ron and Hermione.  
  
Her hair was red, but not the Weasley red, instead, it was much more subdued with brown high lights. Her face was a similar shape to Hermione's, but she had more freckles than even Ron. Personality wise, she was very studious, but her life didn't revolve around books like Hermione, and her position on the quidditch team as chaser showed that better than anything else, as did her own collection of prank items from the twins. His eyes then traveled to the girl sitting across from Jasmine and he felt his heart swell with pride at the mere sight of her, his daughter, Lily.  
  
It was strange but she looked nothing like his own mother at first glance despite her name, except for her eyes. Her hair was tied back into a long braid and the darkest of black and perfectly straight, exactly like his own shoulder length hair which he had continued to keep long as well, but always tied back at the base of his neck, finding out that the unruliness wasn't present if it was long. Her complexion was similar to her mothers, pale with a sprinkling of freckles across her nose. She was quite short for her age, but both of her parents had been as well, Harry not reaching his full height until his seventh year right after he received his full power.  
  
She was very intelligent, picking up all aspects of magic quickly and able to grasp new concepts with ease, but she also had a mischievous streak in her as well, no doubt thanks to the influence of Remus and Sirius as well as her uncles, Fred and George. Her and Jasmine had been best friends since they were very young, despite the years difference in their age.  
  
Both of his children had inherited the same emerald green eyes that he himself possessed, the eyes that every heir of Salazar Slytherin possessed.  
  
Quickly, he shook that thought from his head. Ten years ago, that fact bothered him greatly, but now, he had learned to accept the truth, that he was the heir of Salazar Slytherin as well as Godric Gryffindor, a truth that not even his children were aware of. In fact, only himself, Ginny, Remus, Sirius, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Snape, and Dumbledore were the only ones in the wizarding world who knew this, and he intended to keep it that way. Subconsciously, he began to finger the metal bands that still encircled both of his wrists, a symbol of his heritage along with the tattoo of the golden phoenix that adorned his left forearm, the symbol of his other ancestor.  
  
He had worked hard to prevent his children from discovering their true heritage, and as far as he knew, they had never seen the bands adorning his wrists, or the tattoo on his arm, probably due to the fact that he always wore long sleeved robes to cover not only these, but his various scars he still possessed as well, in fact, his children weren't even aware of his ability to speak parseltongue, since his old pet Sherlock was free to roam the castle and only stopped by his office when he wanted to speak to his friend. He dreaded the day when something slipped to his children about his past, for he knew it would happen eventually, there was no way to keep it hidden forever, and he was worried about how they would react to the events that had occurred when he was younger. He wanted them to be able to live their lives as carefree as possible for as long as possible, and since he knew they would be forced to grow up quickly when they found out the truth in order to accept it, he was putting it off.  
  
They were both incredibly intelligent and bound to discover the truth eventually, or at the very least, they would begin to ask questions of he and Ginny, and if they refused to tell the answers, Lily and James would begin asking others and sooner or later, something was bound to slip out, he could only hope it would be several years down the road. His children were already aware of some of the events that had occurred, there was no way to hide it from them when articles were appearing in the Daily Prophet about their father at least once a week, but they knew no more than the rest of the world, only concrete facts and half truths.  
  
They knew that Harry had been a prisoner of the death eaters for three months, and that he had ended up there through his own magic, but they thought that Voldemort was defeated then when in truth it had taken a year and a half longer than that to actually defeat him. They also knew that their father had been thought dead by the hands of the death eaters when he had really been alive, but they didn't know that he was actually dead, and by the hands of their own mother, Harry's godfather, their aunt and uncle, their long deceased grandparents as well as Remus, Draco, and the headmaster, and he intended to keep these truths form them for as long as possible.  
  
Shifting his eyes from his daughter, they landed on the image of his son. James had inherited Ginny's brilliant red hair and reminded him strongly of Ron at a younger age. He was tall and thin with a tan face, but he too had his fair share of freckles across his nose. He was not as studious as his sister, but he too was very accomplished in his magic, both having inherited their magical skills from their father, though no where near as strong, and their intelligence from their mother who was always one of the smartest witches in her class.  
  
Their son was sitting next to his best friend, Dylan Malfoy, the son of Draco and his wife, Kristen, an auror under Harry's jurisdiction that Draco had met during his time at the academy. Dylan had the tell tale Malfoy looks with his silver blonde hair, but he was not nearly as pale as his father, inheriting his more tanned complexion from his mother.  
  
It had come as a shock to most of the wizarding world when James was sorted into Slytherin, and several of the articles that Sirius had collected spoke of this, but Ginny and Harry had been only slightly surprised, seeing as their children were also heirs to Slytherin and Gryffindor, and if times had been different, they would have probably been disappointed by the sorting hats decision, but the world was at peace now and the only conflict that occurred between houses were on the quidditch pitch. In fact, members of both houses could be seen socializing with each other in the halls and at meal times, a welcome change from his own time at school. On the other hand, no one had been surprised by Dylan being sorted into his fathers house, even though his mother had been a Ravenclaw, it was one of the unwritten rules of the wizarding world, Malfoy's were always Slytherins.  
  
As Harry continued to observe his children talking and laughing with their friends, he felt more proud and at peace than he had ever in his entire life. Everything was right now, as it should be, and his children were proof of this. They had grown up wandering the halls of Hogwarts during the school years, and during breaks, they lived in Black Manor with Sirius and his wife Arabella, his school time sweetheart whom he began a relationship with after Harry was free of Voldemort and the death eaters were destroyed. Harry had tried to buy his own house for himself and Ginny, but Sirius would hear nothing of it and insisted that he remain at Black Manor with his family, and later, Harry found out that his godfather was planning on leaving him the enormous home, seeing as he had no children of his own, and Arabella agreed whole heartedly with him on the matter, so Harry was powerless to refuse, and so, his summers were spent at the beautiful manor.  
  
He had proposed to Ginny at her graduation ceremony from Hogwarts, and she instantly agreed to marry him, and during the spring of the following year, they were married, and one year later she gave birth to Lily and James. The summer following Ginny's graduation, Harry had been invited to join the defense department of the ministry as an auror, along with Ron and Draco, and after three grueling months at the academy, they completed their training and were all given jobs immediately. Harry had moved quickly through the ranks because of his vast experience with the dark arts and his infinite magical ability, and by the time the twins turned four, he was the head of the defense department, overseeing three hundred aurors and taking on the responsibility for the security of the entire wizarding population of Great Britain. Ron and Draco were immediately under him and often managed the day to day operations at the ministry so that he could continue to teach at Hogwarts. He had been given the defense against the dark arts position as soon as he was free of Voldemort, teaching at first only part time because of his auror duties, Remus and Sirius teaching the majority of lessons without him, but the term following his promotion, Hagrid retired and Remus offered to take on the care of magical creatures lessons, allowing Harry and Sirius to teach all of the defense lessons, and it had remained the same for the past seven years.  
  
Ginny was offered the astronomy position when the twins were six, and she had readily agreed to take it. During her school years, she had never taken much of an interest in astronomy, but since she had begun to teach it, she had become infatuated with the night skies and could now interpret the alignment of the stars almost as well as a centaur. Hermione continued to teach charms classes, taking only a year off when Jasmine was born, and she was well liked among the students, but Sirius and Harry's lessons had the highest reputation for being the most exciting and most unpredictable of all, with no one knowing quite what to expect from the savior of the wizarding world and his ex-convict of a godfather. Many often wondered why Harry remained as a professor at the school when his job at the ministry and his inheritance from his parents provided more than enough money for the family, but his reason for remaining had nothing to do with money, his reasons were all in the room with him, his family and friends. If he weren't at the castle on a regular basis, he wouldn't have nearly as much time with those he held close, nor would he have an excuse to act like a teenager anymore.  
  
Harry and Sirius were well known to prank each other during the middle of the lessons, but they didn't stop there, in fact, they had been known to prank their students or other members of the staff just to get a laugh, which their friends found amusing, but also relieving that Harry was able to live such a carefree life even after all he had been through. One of their favorites victims was none other than Severus Snape, who was still potions master and head of Slytherin house, but the ex-death eater wouldn't just stand by and allow himself to be humiliated, seeking every opportunity to take revenge on Sirius since no one had ever been able to play a prank on Harry, his magical ability preventing any undesired spells from hitting him, but that didn't stop Snape from trying.  
  
Appearance wise, Harry had changed very little since he was eighteen. His face had become more mature, but he looked far from old despite the lightning bolt scar on his forehead and the long jagged scar stretching from his cheekbone to his jaw, which his children had never asked him about, instead learning the origins of the scars from Sirius at a young age, who cautioned them never to bring the subject up with their father. He was never seen without being dressed entirely in black, except for the cloak Ginny had given him so many years ago, which he wore during the winter months. He always had his sword and dagger tucked securely in his belt when he was on missions for the ministry, and his golden staff was always by his side, even when he was at the school.  
  
"Harry, we had better get going, classes are about to start and we have first year Gryffindor first thing" said Sirius standing up.  
  
"Ok" replied Harry as he got to his feet and placed a quick kiss on his wife "I'll see you later" he said as he followed his godfather away from the head table, walking between the tables belonging to Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, talking quietly to each other about their lesson plans for the day, but their conversation was cut off abruptly by a voice.  
  
"Dad! Uncle Sirius" called Lily and Harry and Sirius turned to face her  
  
"Morning Lil's, Jasmine, what's up?" asked Harry as he gave his daughter a hug  
  
"Good morning, dad" said Lily, returning the hug before she winked at her best friend, a action which didn't go unnoticed by the two men, but neither commented on it "We were wondering if you could take us into Hogesmede this afternoon" she replied sweetly  
  
"Why do you need to go into the village?" asked Harry  
  
"Well, James and Dylan told us about some new things that Uncle Fred and Uncle George came up with, and that they wanted us to test them for them" she answered, and upon hearing her words, Sirius broke into a wide smile  
  
"Ah ha! I knew your daughter would turn into a prankster eventually!" he exclaimed as he slapped Harry on the back, and his godson only rolled his eyes at him  
  
"No we're not!" exclaimed Jasmine indignantly "Dylan and James wanted us to get it for them!" she exclaimed, earning a stern look from her friend  
  
"You weren't supposed to tell them that!" she hissed  
  
"Since when have you tried to defend your brother?" asked Harry  
  
"Since he promised to get her a huge birthday gift" answered Jasmine promptly, earning herself a glare from her best friend  
  
"Thanks a lot, Jasmine" she hissed, causing Harry and Sirius to burst out laughing  
  
"Well, I guess I could take you down this evening, after classes, but you have to promise to let me see this new invention so that I can be prepared" said Sirius before Harry had a chance to protest  
  
"Padfoot!" exclaimed Harry "You aren't supposed to encourage them!" said Harry in mock sternness, although deep down he knew he could never refuse his daughters requests, but it seemed as though his words had gone unheard  
  
"Thanks Sirius" said Lily happily as she gave him a tight hug  
  
"Anything for you, Lily" said Sirius with a smile "Besides, I need to get a birthday gift for you and your brother" he added and after a quick goodbye, the two men continued on their way to their office  
  
"What are you getting them?" asked Harry once they had closed the door behind themselves  
  
"I'm not sure yet" admitted Sirius sheepishly as he pulled a stack of parchment toward himself to finish grading "Any ideas?" he asked hopefully  
  
"Not at all, I haven't even gotten anything yet, I was planning on going to Diagon Alley while I was at the ministry this weekend" answered Harry as he took half of the essays for himself  
  
"Well, what would a twelve year old, almost thirteen, want?" asked Sirius  
  
"I'm not sure, when I was that age, I was more worried about escaping from an escaped convict whom everyone told me was trying to kill me" answered Harry with a grin on his face  
  
"Ha ha, very funny" growled Sirius "It's not my fault that the ministry was made up of a bunch of bloody idiots when you were a kid"  
  
"I know, I'm just trying to annoy you" answered Harry with a smirk on his face  
  
"Well, you're doing a good job of it" muttered Sirius, which caused Harry to burst out laughing  
  
"When is the twins party going to be?" asked Sirius once his godson had gotten his laughter back under control  
  
"Two weeks from Saturday, is Arabella going to be able to make it?"  
  
"She wouldn't miss it" replied Sirius promptly. His wife was often traveling the country because of her position as a member of the Accidental Magic Reversal Department, but had yet to miss any aspect of James and Lily's lives.  
  
"Good, it would be great to see her again" said Harry with a smile  
  
"No kidding, I haven't even seen her myself for two weeks now" answered Sirius with a note of sadness in his voice. Deciding it would be best to let the matter drop, Harry turned back to the essays to finish grading them, and Sirius did the same.  
  
The next weeks passed quite quickly for all of the occupants of the castle, and before they knew it, it was the day of the party to celebrate the twins thirteenth birthday. When Harry awoke the morning of the party, with Ginny still sound asleep beside him, he couldn't help but think fondly of his life now. He had a beautiful wife, two wonderful kids, and was a very well respected member of the magical community. Life couldn't get much better than this he thought as he pulled Ginny closer.  
  
Several hours later, the party was in full swing in the Three Broomsticks. Even though James and Lily were among the youngest students of their year, they were both very popular and well liked by the rest of their classmates, and their respective friends combined with their surrogate and actual family members made for a very large group. Sirius and Remus were both present, as well as Arabella, Draco, Kristen, Ron, Hermione, and many of the other Weasley's. Dumbledore had also decided to come and could currently be found sitting at a table with Harry, and despite the festive atmosphere, they both had tense expressions on their faces.  
  
"I hate to be the bearer of such unhappy news on what is supposed to be a happy day, but I must warn you about something" began the old headmaster wearily  
  
"What's the matter, sir?" asked Harry distractedly as he looked across the room where James and Lily had begun to open their gifts  
  
"I have just received word that your children are in danger" he said bluntly and immediately, Harry's attention was riveted on the blue eyes of his old mentor. 


	3. Threats and Action

Chapter 3-Threats and Action  
  
"Who?" he demanded, his voice taking on a cold edge and his eyes hardening into two piercing emeralds as he felt power surge through him.  
  
"I'm not sure exactly who he is, all I know is that he calls himself Iniquitous and that he was once a follower of Voldemort, but something happened and he left the Death Eaters before he ever received the mark and no one was able to track him down" he explained heavily  
  
"How do you know this? I am the head of the Defense Department at the Ministry and I haven't even heard anything about this Iniquitous before" said Harry with his brow furrowed in confusion  
  
"That is because he has done nothing to warrant the involvement of the ministry, yet" explained Dumbledore  
  
"But then how do you know that he is after Lily and James? And why do you seem so worried about him?" asked Harry, becoming even more confused by the moment  
  
"Because, I received this just before I came down here today" he answered as he pulled a piece of parchment from his robes "It proves that Iniquitous is more intelligent than even his former master, and that he already has a wide basis of followers" he said as he handed the parchment to Harry who carefully unfolded it and began to read the black writing.  
  
Headmaster,  
  
I know you probably have no idea who I am, but rest assured that within a matter of time, you will fear me, as will the rest of the wizarding world. My name is simply Iniquitous. I was once a follower of Lord Voldemort, but as his ideals weren't the same as mine, I left him in pursuit of my own destiny, a destiny I have now discovered, for I shall be the one to destroy the Gryffindor and Slytherin family lines once and for all, by destroying the children of Harry Potter, thereby destroying him as well. These may seem like idle threats to you as you read this, so let my prove to you just how much Potter has to fear from me. In my travels and studies, I have uncovered many startling facts about the savior of the wizarding world, that he is none other than the grandson of Voldemort himself, that he possessed the soul of his grandfather for over a year, and that he really did die that Christmas day fifteen years ago, despite what the rest of the world seems to believe. I have also discovered that said savior was abused as a child by his muggle relatives, that he attacked his best friend and wife, both while he bore the dark mark on his arm, and lastly, that he, as I have already mentioned, is the heir to both Slytherin and Gryffindor. This is your only warning, headmaster, I have spent the past seventeen years training in dark magic, gathering followers, and researching the best possible way to destroy Potter and his family, and I have discovered it, to destroy the father, one must first destroy the children that he loves so much, though I will not tell you how I will do this just yet, but when the time comes, you will know it, I am sure of it, and by then, I will be unstoppable. Head my warnings, Potter, and enjoy the last bit of time you have with your children for no one can stop me, least of all you.  
  
Iniquitous  
  
When Harry finished reading the letter, he didn't realize that his hands were shaking and that his face had gone white "No" he said quietly as he sent pleading eyes to the man who had always known all of the answers before.  
  
"I'm sorry, Harry, but you have to know, you have to be warned so that you can watch out for them, so that you can warn them" said Dumbledore as he placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.  
  
"This can't be happening, they can't be in danger" protested Harry weakly  
  
"But they are, and the only thing you can do is tell them the truth so that they will be prepared"  
  
"No, they're not ready for the truth, they're too young" argued Harry "The truth would terrify them" he added quietly  
  
"True, but it is the only way, they have a right to know"  
  
"Damn it! I'm supposed to be the most powerful wizard ever! Why am I letting something as trivial as an empty threat from some wannabe dark lord scare me so much?" he asked suddenly, furious with himself for his momentary loss in composure  
  
"Because, for the first time, it is not you who is in immediate danger, but your children who you love more than life itself" explained Dumbledore with a small smile  
  
Harry sighed heavily as he nodded his head "You're right, as usual" he muttered quietly  
  
"So, what do you plan on doing?" asked Albus after several minutes of silence  
  
"Nothing until after the party is over, then I guess I'll head to the ministry with Ron and Draco and see if we can't track this guy down before he has a chance to act on these threats" he said after a moment of thought as he glared at the letter before him, and after a second, it went up in flames, sufficiently breaking Harry's concentration "Sorry" he muttered sheepishly, once more feeling like he were a student in trouble, but Dumbledore's kind smile helped him to relax.  
  
"No need to apologize, I would prefer you to express your anger in that manner instead of shattering all of the glass in the room" he said with a twinkle in his eye that disappeared almost immediately as he once again became serious.  
  
"Do you plan on telling James and Lily?" he asked hesitantly  
  
"As soon as I get back from the ministry, I'll let them enjoy a few more days of their childhood before it disappears" he said with a shake of his head "So much for letting my children grow up worry free, huh?" he asked bitterly  
  
"I'm afraid that nothing to do with you will ever be worry free, Harry" he answered with a grim chuckle as they both stood and walked over to the party where the twins were just finishing opening their gifts without a care in the world.  
  
As soon as the party concluded, Harry motioned for Ron and Draco to wait for him as he went to say goodbye to his family "James, Lily, how did you like the party?" he asked in fake cheerfulness as he put an arm around Ginny's waist.  
  
"It was great, dad! Thanks for the broom!" exclaimed Lily as she threw herself on her father, who returned the hug as he used his free hand to lovingly stroke her dark hair.  
  
"You're welcome, sweetie" he said  
  
"Yeah, thanks dad" said James with a wide smile as he fingered his own brand new broom  
  
"You're welcome James, you two both deserved it, but I'm afraid I have to head to the ministry for a few days" he said as he watched their faces fall from excitement to confusion and Ginny frowned in worry.  
  
"What for? I thought you didn't have to go back until next week" she said quietly  
  
"Something's come up, Dumbledore just told me and I need to take care of it, but I shouldn't be too long" he assured her as he squeezed her hand gently  
  
"Can't Uncle Ron and Draco take care of it? At least for the night? I thought we were going to have dinner together tonight" asked Lily sadly as she turned her bright green eyes on her father who sighed heavily before speaking  
  
"I'm afraid this can't wait, I really am sorry, but I promise we'll have the family party as soon as I get back to the castle" he said with a forced smile, and Ginny, sensing the importance of what he was going to do cut in before James and Lily could protest further  
  
"Come on, let's get back to the castle so you two can try those brooms out with your friends" she said as she waved her wand and their other gifts shrunk and the twins began to gather them up and put them into their pockets as she turned to Harry "What's really going on?" she demanded quietly to prevent being overheard by their children  
  
"I'm really not sure yet, but Albus received a letter this morning from someone who is threatening to hurt James and Lily and I want to figure out who it is before anything happens" he said, deciding to leave out the more frightening aspects of the letter such as the things the writer had found out about and the support he apparently already had.  
  
Upon hearing his words, Ginny gasped in alarm and clamped a hand over her mouth in horror "Who is it?" she demanded  
  
"Someone who calls himself Iniquitous" he said cryptically  
  
"But who is he?" she asked again  
  
"A man who will be gracing the halls of Azkaban as soon as I find him for daring to threaten my family" said Harry and with his words, Ginny felt something she hadn't felt in many years, the magic around him seemed to crackle with a life all its own and his eyes became as sharp as emerald glass and she knew that he would keep his word, no matter what happened, but as suddenly as it came, the magic softened and he spoke in a normal voice once again "Keep an eye on them, Gin, and watch your back, I'll be back as soon as I can" he said as he pulled her into a tight hug, and by the time they broke apart, Lily and James had returned. "By guys, be careful and I'll see you in a few days, happy birthday again" he said as he hugged them both in turn before walking them to the door where he watched them walk back through the village toward the castle. As they disappeared out of sight, he felt the presences of others directly behind him and he turned to see Ron, Draco, Sirius, Remus, and Snape all looking to him expectantly.  
  
"Albus told us about the letter, Harry, what do you want us to do?" asked Sirius after several minutes of tense silence.  
  
"I want the three of you to go back to the castle and keep an eye on my family. Lily and James have no idea about anything that the rest of the world doesn't know, and I want it kept that way until I get back, then I'll tell them everything" he said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose to ward off the impending headache before he lifted his gaze to look at Ron and Draco "I want you two to come with me to the ministry, all of you, keep your heads up and if you hear anything about this Iniquitous, let me know immediately. In the meantime, we're going to try to find out what his real name is and where he is" he finished and the other five men all nodded their heads before the three professors set off through the dark toward the castle and the three aurors apparated to headquarters of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Defense at the Ministry of Magic. 


	4. Research

A/N: sorry this took so long to get out, but I just couldn't get it to feel right. Just so you know, this chapter may be confusing if you haven't read the prequel, actually, I know it will. I warned you, now read and enjoy, and I apologize in advance because I'm leaving to go to a family vacation for a week and won't be able to post, sorry, but I will as soon as I get back, probably a couple of days before the book is released. Thanks for your reviews!  
  
Chapter 4-Research  
  
The next week passed quickly, and the following Saturday found a group of students and professors outside the castle, James and Lily had spent the past several hours on the quidditch pitch with Jasmine and Dylan, all four friends laughing and joking with each other and just plain enjoying the sunshine, oblivious to the five people sitting in the stands watching them while talking quietly among themselves.  
  
"Any word from Harry?" asked Sirius as he turned to Ginny  
  
"None, I'm really starting to get worried, usually he at least writes every couple of days" she answered with her brow furrowed "Have you heard anything from Ron, Hermione?" she asked in hope  
  
"Nothing" she responded with a heavy sigh "I just wish we knew what's going on" she added to no one in particular  
  
"No kidding" answered Ginny as she watched her children fly  
  
"Albus hasn't heard anything either, but at least he hasn't gotten any more letters" said Snape from his place behind the two women  
  
"Good, I hope Harry finds this madman and hits him where it hurts" said Sirius, causing the others just to roll their eyes in response "What?!" he demanded  
  
"Black, the eternal juvenile" answered Snape, causing laughter to break out among the friends, especially when Sirius didn't protest  
  
After several minutes though, the somber mood overtook them again "I just wish we knew something" said Remus, and the others all nodded in silent agreement.  
  
Finally, the sun was beginning to set and the professors called the four students down from their game, and the group retreated into the warmth of the castle and into the great hall for dinner. Once the meal was over, Ginny and Hermione both said goodnight to their children and Dylan before they left in the direction of their respective dorms.  
  
Lily remained up late into the night, trying to finish her potions essay that was due Monday morning, while Jasmine worked on her charms homework, and it was nearly midnight before they sleepily made their way to their dormitories and into bed.  
  
As soon as Lily fell asleep though, she was pulled into the strangest dream she had ever had. She was standing in a stone room, void of any windows or even a door, and not a second later, she heard a low pop and spun around to see her brother standing beside her.  
  
"James?" she asked in shock at the same moment he said her name, and both nodded with wide eyes as they looked at their twin. They were both wearing black robes, similar to their school robes but without the house patches, despite the fact that they had both been wearing their night cloths.  
  
"What's going on?" asked James finally  
  
"I'm not sure, but this is really strange" answered Lily in a whisper, but before he had a chance to respond, another pop was heard and a tall man, wearing black robes as well, was standing before them. He was rather plain looking, with no distinct characteristics whatsoever, a shaggy mop of shoulder length hair, dark brown in color, and eyes that were a muddy brown as well. In fact, he was the type of person you wouldn't give a second glance to if you were to pass him on the street, but they weren't on a street, they were trapped in a strange sort of dream and forced to observe him carefully as he strode toward the two thirteen year olds, his robes fanning out behind him.  
  
"Ah, at last, I have the honor of meeting the children of the famous Harry Potter. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Iniquitous" he said as an evil smile crossed his thin lips.  
  
"Who?" asked James with his brow furrowed and his hand going for his robe pocket where he always kept his wand. Even though this was just a dream, he didn't like the feeling of it, it was all just too strange, and Lily had to agree with him as she made the same motion, but then they turned to look to each other in horror as they realized that they were unarmed.  
  
"Tsk, tsk, did you really believe that I would allow you to come here with your wands? You may not realize it, but you are both quite powerful, or will be given time, and with your combined powers, you could destroy me, even here and I can't risk that, now can I?" he asked with a smirk  
  
"What do you want?" asked Lily with far more braveness than she felt at the moment  
  
"Do not worry, girl, I didn't bring you here to hurt you, just to talk to you, and show you some things that have been kept from you for the entirety of your lives" he said as he snapped his fingers and three chairs appeared out of nowhere "Why don't you take a seat and we can begin" he said as he sat himself  
  
James and Lily looked to one another quickly and mutely decided to just comply and see what this was all about, after all, what other choice did they have at the moment?  
  
"Fine, talk" said James once he had sat stiffly in the chair, ready to jump to his feet if the need arose  
  
"Not one for pleasantries, are you? I would have thought that your parents would have raised you better, but given their histories, especially that of your father, I can't say I am to terribly surprised" he said with another cold smile crossing his lips  
  
"What are you on about?" asked Lily in true confusion "What history, our patents are both good and well respected people" she said by way of defense and James nodded in agreement.  
  
"Ah, that is what they would like you to think, but several things have been kept from the two of you, and from the rest of the wizarding world, things that you have a right to know, and since it is obvious that no one else will tell you these things, I will take it upon myself to do so, but first, you must tell me all you know about your father" he said as he settled back into his own chair, meeting two very confused pairs of brilliant green eyes.  
  
"All right" said James slowly after looking to his sister for a moment "Where do you want us to start?" he asked hesitantly  
  
"Well, the beginning is as good of place as any" said the man with a shrug of his shoulders  
  
"Ok, his name is Harry James Potter, he was born of July 31, 1980 to Lily and James Potter in Godric's Hollow" said Lily and from here, her brother took over  
  
"His parents were killed by Voldemort on Halloween when he was a year old, and when he tried to kill dad, the spell rebounded back onto him and killed his body and freed his spirit, and all that dad got was a scar on his forehead.  
  
After his parents died, he was sent to live with his mothers sister, Petunia, and her husband Vernon, and he didn't even know he was a wizard until he got his letter from Hogwarts. His best friends in school were Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and during his fifth year, he started to date mum. During his sixth year, Voldemort attacked Hogwarts and after a battle, dad was taken prisoner by the death eaters and not seen for three months, and everyone thought he was dead, but he came back. Things got back to normal as much as possible, and dad left the school during his last year to get private lessons, and he returned the year after he graduated.  
  
On Christmas of that year, mum and several other people who were close to dad were taken by death eaters and when he went after them, everyone thought he had died, but a few days later, he came walking into the great hall, very much alive. At mum's graduation, he proposed to her and then they got married and shortly after, we were born. Now he is the head of the Ministry of Magic's defense department and teaches Defense against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. Everyone knows this, it's in all of the books about dad and Voldemort" concluded James with a shrug of his shoulders and Lily nodded in agreement.  
  
Iniquitous sat in silence for several moments as he surveyed the children in front of him. Suddenly, his eyes met both of theirs and he said in a steady voice "What would you say if I told you that the majority of what you know of your father is a lie, fabricated by himself, Dumbledore, and the rest of their select group to explain the strange occurrences of your fathers life" he said smoothly with his lips upturned in a small smile.  
  
"Never, our father would never lie to us" said Lily firmly  
  
"I'm afraid it is true, the man you know as your father is nothing but a façade designed to keep you in the dark about the working of reality" he said confidently  
  
"Why would he do that? He has nothing to hide" said James with a vigorous shake of his head  
  
"Alas, child, you are wrong, Harry Potter has much to hide, allow me to show you" he said, and he raised his hands and the room of nothingness began to fade from view and they found themselves standing in the kitchen of an obviously muggle home, looking right at a young boy with messy black hair and black rimmed glasses and a very beefy looking man with no neck, who was currently looking quite furious about something. Both people were standing frozen, allowing them to get a look at the pair.  
  
"What is this? Where are we?" asked Lily as she spun around to look at Iniquitous, but before he could answer, James spoke up.  
  
"Is that dad?" he asked as he turned to face the man as well, and Lily turned her wide eyes to look at the boy before they grew even wider and dawned in comprehension  
  
"It is dad, isn't it? I mean, it looks just like him, well kind of" she said as she squinted and looked closer at him  
  
"Yes, that is your father, or more correctly, it was your father just before his eleventh birthday, and the man standing in front of him is his Uncle Vernon. Now, this particular event takes place just after a trip to the zoo in which a Burmese python got loose and chased his cousin and a friend. Now, watch" he commanded, and immediately, the scene came to life.  
  
"How did that happen, boy? What did you do?" he demanded to the boy who was cowering before him "Where did the glass go, boy?"  
  
"I didn't do it, Uncle Vernon, I swear, I don't know what happened!" he said in a desperate attempt to convince the large man "On minute the glass was there, the next, it was gone, it was like magic"  
  
"There is no such thing as magic, boy, and you were not talking to that snake! Go to your cupboard, now, and you will get no meals for a week!" he yelled furiously as he grabbed the scruff of the boy's shirt and threw him harshly into the small space and the scene ended abruptly and they found themselves back in the white space again, but this time with no furniture.  
  
"What was that?" asked James  
  
"That was an event from your fathers past" explained Iniquitous patiently  
  
"What are you talking about? How did you know this?" asked Lily, doubt evident in her voice  
  
"I have many talents, one of which is to see the events that occurred in people's past" he said as though this were an every day occurrence  
  
"What were they talking about? Did dad really talk to a snake? And why did his uncle throw him into a cupboard and tell him that he couldn't eat? And what did he think he was saying that there is no such thing as magic" said Lily very quickly and James could only nod, showing he wanted the answers as well  
  
"First, yes, your father did talk to that snake, and as far as the cupboard, he lived there until he received his Hogwarts letter and his family used food as a punishment for any wrong he did, starving him on a regular basis, and they knew that magic was real, but they didn't want your father to know that, so they tried to convince him otherwise" he explained "Let me show you something else" he said and the room faded again and they found themselves tumbling through the events of their fathers first five years of school, being shocked time after time by the things that had been kept from them, the parseltongue, the chamber of secrets, the details of the third task, the deaths, the pain, the suffering, everything, and it left them both speechless, and then they found themselves in a memory about the attack on Hogwarts.  
  
They witnessed the duel between Voldemort and their father, and heard the words exchanged, and finally, saw him vanish in a flash of light. Then they saw the torture he had endured during his imprisonment, saw him receive the dark mark, saw him kill Malfoy and saw the spirit of Voldemort enter their father before the scene changed again and flashed through the memories of the next months, the recovery, the reunions with friends and the return to normalcy, but then, they found themselves sitting in the great hall watching their father duel with another man. They saw him hit by the cruciatus curse and stabbed by the knife before he won the duel. They say the meeting with Dumbledore in which the truth came out and it became known that Harry and Voldemort were one.  
  
Then they saw the events that occurred during the defense lesson, saw the man who had raised them curse his closest friends. They saw him return to the Dursley's, receive his staff, and go into the past with his godfather in search of Voldemort's daughter, saw everything that had occurred with the marauders until they returned to the present, without the girl. Then, they saw the four students arrive in their fathers time and learn the truth as well. They learned that their grandmother was his daughter. They saw the effects that the potion had, the kidnappings on that Christmas day, their father go in search of those closest to him. Saw him subjected to torture once again.  
  
Saw him killed by his own family, one painful curse at a time. Then they saw the spell performed, and saw him come back to life. They then saw the disappearance of the dark mark to be replaced by the phoenix and the efforts of their father to remove the bands that showed him as the heir of Slytherin before he sent his parents back home. Then, the scenes faded one final time, leaving two very shocked, confused, and angry teenagers and one smirking man behind. 


	5. Truths and Lies

Chapter 5-Truths and Lies  
  
"Ron, please tell me that you have found something" said Harry Potter as he looked to his long time best friend  
  
"Sorry Harry, but this guy is harder to track down than anyone I have ever heard of. We've looked everywhere and talked to everyone possible, but no one has even heard of him before this" said Ron wearily as he dropped his head into his hands, exhausted  
  
"He's right, Potter, not even the spies from the death eaters have heard everything" said Draco as he leaned against the wall of the spacious office, looking intently to his immediate superior to see what to do next.  
  
"I can't believe that he is so hard to find information on" mumbled Harry quietly "He has to have a lot of contacts in order to have found out so much about me, but who are they? And better yet, who is he?" he asked, and not surprisingly, the other two merely shrugged their shoulders in answer. "So," he continued "Any ideas about what to do now? We've spent the past week chasing after a ghost with no leads at all, and we're no closer to finding anything out than we were before we started" he said as he turned his emerald gaze to the other two men  
  
"I don't know about you, but I think this is just an empty threat. How could this man ever get even near James and Lily? I mean, they're at Hogwarts which is the safest place in the wizarding world, they're surrounded by an entire staff of Order members, and they're father defeated Voldemort. I think they have enough going in their favor that they'll be fine" said Ron with certainty, and Draco nodded in agreement before speaking up himself.  
  
"Weasley's got a point, there is no way any dark wizard could get close enough to touch the two of them. I think the best idea is for you to go back to the castle and keep an eye on them, we'll keep our ears opened and if we hear anything, we'll contact you immediately"  
  
"I guess you're right, besides, I would feel better if I could watch out for them myself" agreed Harry "Hopefully this was all just some sort of sick joke" he added as an after thought  
  
"Good, it's decided then. I'll come up to Hogwarts this weekend to see Hermione and Jasmine and let you know if we found anything else out" said Ron  
  
"Thank goodness, it'll be good to see Kristen again, and sleep in a bed. This undercover work really gets to you after a couple of days" said Draco "I don't think I could sleep in one more run down inn if my life depended on it" he added  
  
"Well at least you got to sleep on a bed, I've spent the past week as an owl, do you have any idea how uncomfortable it is to sleep on a tree branch?" asked Harry with a small grimace on his face as he rubbed his back  
  
"Hey, no complaining, boss, it was your idea to deliver the daily prophet to all of the shady areas. It's not our fault you didn't get a break" said Ron with a laugh "I'd better get going, I'll see you this weekend, Draco, I'll see you in the morning" he said as he walked from the office  
  
"Bye, Potter, enjoy your bed and we'll keep looking, just relax" he added as an afterthought as he too left the office.  
  
Harry stood a couple of minutes later and looked once around the office before summoning his sword, dagger, and staff from the chair where he laid them when he returned from his mission only an hour before. Quickly, he tucked the weapons into his belt and took the staff in his hand, then closed his eyes and with a pop, he disappeared and reappeared an instant later on the outskirts of the school grounds. He silently and quickly covered the distance to the school and once inside, made his way to he and Ginny's room. Touching his staff to the corner of the painting, it swung opened and he entered the room, expecting it to bee dark and empty considering that it was only five in the morning, but to his surprise, the torches and fire were all blazing and Ginny was sitting on the couch, her head in her hands and her shoulders shaking as she cried silently.  
  
"Gin, what's wrong?" he asked immediately as he hurried to her side and she jerked her head up and met his gaze with her own.  
  
"Harry!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms around his shoulders, sobbing even harder  
  
"Shh, what's the matter?" he asked again as he sat on the couch, Ginny still in his arms with her head buried in his shoulder and her tears soaking threw his robes. He gently stroked her soft red hair and muttered quietly into her ear until she had collected herself enough to raise her head and face him with her tear streaked cheeks "What happened?" he asked after several silent moments  
  
"J.James and Lily" she began and his grip unconsciously tightened around her and his eyes filled with fear  
  
"What happened to them? Where are they?" he demanded as he started to jump to his feet, but her grip on his cloak stopped him  
  
"They're fine, Harry, they're in their dorm" she said and he relaxed slightly "They know, Harry" she said quietly  
  
"What? What do they know?" he asked with his brow furrowed in worry and confusion as he dreaded her next words.  
  
"Everything" she whispered and he felt his knees give out beneath him and he collapsed back onto the couch  
  
"How?" he finally managed to ask  
  
"I don't know. But they do" she said meekly  
  
"What did they say?" he asked almost hesitantly, not wanting the answer but needing it nonetheless  
  
"Oh, Harry, they're mad, furious, about the whole thing, they said that they hate us all for what we did. You for being Voldemort's grandson, and cursing the rest of us when he had control, and for hiding your past. They hate me, and Ron, and Hermione, and Sirius, and Remus, and Dumbledore, and Draco and Snape for hiding this from them and for taking part in what happened that Christmas" she sobbed out tearfully "I tried to explain everything to them, but they wouldn't listen, they said they want nothing to do with us ever again" she concluded as she once again buried her face in his shoulder while he sat frozen with shock and horror.  
  
"Oh my god" he finally managed to say, his heart and mind going a thousand directions "This can't be happening, how did this happen?" he demanded of no one in particular "I need to go see the twins, I need to explain things to them" he finally said as he stood on his shaking legs, disentangling his wife from his arms before he woodenly made his way to the door, unconsciously picking up his staff as he passed it.  
  
"Harry, wait" said Ginny suddenly as she too stood and grabbed his free hand in her own "Think about this logically before you go to them. They are two thirteen year old kids who just found out that their entire family has lied to them since they were born. They don't know who to trust anymore, but maybe they will still listen if we gave them some time to calm down about all of this, if we didn't just rush into it. Wait until the morning and them we'll talk to them together, and in the mean time, go tell Sirius and Remus what happened, maybe they'll be able to help" she said in an almost pleading tone as she gripped his hand tightly  
  
"Gin, are you sure?" he asked hesitantly "I mean, shouldn't we straighten all of this out now instead of giving them time to blow it all out of proportion? Haven't we waited long enough to talk about this?" he asked as he squeezed her hand just as tightly  
  
"What's done is done, Harry, and there is nothing we can do to undo it. I wish we would have been able to tell them everything ourselves, but it's too late for that now" she almost whispered  
  
"Ok, I guess you're right, we'll wait until morning to tell them" he said in hopes of reassuring his distraught wife a little as he held his staff out and it returned to it's place in the corner "Will you be ok for a few minutes while I try to call Moony and Padfoot?" he asked as he gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze  
  
Mutely, Ginny nodded her head and she gave him a watery smile as she returned to her seat on the couch and Harry turned to their bedroom to call the other two men from the fire in there. He took a deep breath as he stopped before the flames and held out his hand to summon some fire call powder which he then tossed into the hearth, turning the flames a bright blue before he called out in a clear voice "Sirius Black"  
  
A moment later, a very much half asleep Sirius had his head poking through the flames, his hair disheveled and eyes squinted against the bright light of the room, but his eyes widened marginally when he saw his godson standing before him "Harry! It's about time you got back! Ginny and the kids have been worried sick about you, not to mention the rest of us. What did you find out?" he asked, becoming more awake with each sentence he spoke.  
  
"Not now, Padfoot. Can you come over here? There's something I need your help with" said Harry quietly in hopes of preventing Ginny from hearing.  
  
"What happened?" asked Sirius, alarmed and worried.  
  
"I'll tell you when you get here, but make it quick" ordered Harry and without another word, Sirius nodded his head and disappeared from the flames and Harry threw another pinch into the fire, this time calling out "Remus Lupin"  
  
A few moments later, Remus appeared in the flames, looking much more alert than Sirius, but he had concern etched into his normally kind features "Harry, what's wrong?" he asked immediately  
  
"Something's happened, can you come over here? Sirius is already on his way, I need your help" said Harry bluntly, and with a curt nod, Remus disappeared as well and Harry turned from the bedroom and headed into the bathroom to wash his face of the dirt that had made permanent residence there during the past week. After ward, with a clean face and wet hair, he waved his hand and his cloths were free of dust and dirt as well and looked freshly laundered. He then hastily tied his hair back into a low ponytail as he heard a quiet knock on the front door of their rooms.  
  
Quickly, he hurried from the room just as Ginny was letting Remus and Sirius in. He gave them both forced smiles as they both embraced him before taking seats in the two arm chairs before the fire while he took his seat next to his wife.  
  
"Ok, what happened?" asked Sirius immediately and Remus shot him a pointed glare, but his eyes were curious as well as he turned to face Harry and Ginny.  
  
"Somehow, the twins found out the truth about everything, and I mean everything" said Harry bluntly as he felt Ginny squeeze his hand reassuringly.  
  
"How in Merlin's name did that happen?" said Sirius once the words had sunk in, his eyes wide in shock and confusion  
  
"I have no idea, but I do know that they came down here a couple of hours ago and told Gin that they hate all of us for keeping it from them and taking part in what happened, and that they don't' want anything to do with any of us ever again" said Harry miserably.  
  
"You can't be serious? Can you?" asked Sirius in disbelief, looking back and forth from his godson to his wife.  
  
"I'm afraid we are" said Harry quietly  
  
"But how did they find out? I mean, only a handful of people know the truth, and none of them would tell James and Lily without your consent" said Remus, speaking for the first time that evening.  
  
"That's what I want to know" said Harry bitterly "I know that you two, Albus, Severus, and Hermione wouldn't tell anyone, and Draco and Ron were with me, so who else knew? I mean, besides my parents who couldn't have possibly said anything?" said Harry as his brow furrowed in thought.  
  
"No one else knew any of the truth, only what the papers said" said Remus thoughtfully  
  
"So, basically, your children hate you for things that you had no control over, and that happened before they were born, and we have no idea as to how they found out about it" said Sirius as he threw his hands in the air in exasperation.  
  
"That about sums it up, Padfoot" said Harry with a nod of his head "So what do you think we should do about all of this?" he asked hopefully  
  
"Honestly, Harry, I have no idea" answered Remus after several minutes of thought and Remus shook his head as well before he spoke up.  
  
"All I can think of is talking to everyone else in the morning and seeing if they have any ideas, of if they know how the kids found out. Can Ron and Draco stop by for a few minutes?" he asked  
  
"Probably. They were planning on coming this weekend but I'm sure they could come a few days early" said Harry after he though about what else the two aurors had been planning on doing before they came to the castle, nothing except for searcing for any information about Iniquitous.  
  
"Good, I'll talk to Severus and Albus in the morning before breakfast if you can talk to Hermione, Ron, and Draco" said Remus with a nod of his head "We'll plan on meeting here right after breakfast, after classes have started, and if the headmaster approves it, our classes can have a study hall, I'm sure Mr. Filch will over see it for us" he finished  
  
"What about the kids? Do you think we should try to talk to them?" asked Harry hesitantly  
  
"I have no idea what you should do, the closest thing either of us ever came to children was you, and we didn't even enter your life until your third year and I didn't get custody of you until sixth, and needless to say, you weren't the average teenager by a long shot" said Sirius in a truthful tone but underlined with humor, betrayed by the mischievous glint in his eyes.  
  
"All I can say is give them some time to accept this before you confront them, and until then, we need to figure out how whoever told them found out themselves, because I honestly doubt that they will spill the truth themselves, especially since their trust in all of us is shaky right now" said Remus and Harry and Ginny reluctantly nodded their heads in agreement.  
  
"Why don't we all go back to bed until morning, it's only three am and there is nothing else we can do until everyone else wakes up for breakfast" said Sirius as he got to his feet "Don't worry, Harry, everything will work out fine" he said as way of reassurance as he motioned for Remus to accompany him. Both of the older men embraced the young couple before leaving and once they were gone, Harry and Ginny mutely grabbed onto each other and within an hour, both were sound asleep on the couch.  
  
A/N: Ok, next chapter done and posted, and it was a little longer than any of the previous ones, but it will take a little longer to get them as long as the prequel, sorry. Thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad you like it so far and let me know what you think of this one, and just so you know, I will be finishing this and the other story I'm working on right now, regardless of what happens in the book, but give me some time to at least read it before I have to post a new chapter, please? Ok, now to answer some other questions, I have no idea how long this will be, but probably not quite as long as the prequel, and I have no idea when it will be finished, but it will be. And I think it was SCC who asked, but I'm not sure since I'm not online right now, but whoever it was, yes, I do ride horses, I have two paint horses right now, my two year old mare, Meekah, and her two month old daughter, Terra (who I had no idea was coming until a week before she was born). I ride English mostly (Jumping and dressage) but I like to ride western every once in a while when I ride on the trails with my friends, I am in Texas, remember! Ok, enough of that. Well, I also have a cat (Sherlock) and I recently got a dog (Riley-he's really cute!) and I have a roommate I am really starting to hate, so, any delays in posting, blame on her because I am staying away from home as much as possible-she recently started dating this guy who is really creepy and I think is into drugs, and to top it all off, when I got back from my trip, I found out that he had been evicted from his place, so he moved in! the world just keeps getting better and better. Well, enough of my rambling, if anyone is still reading this, hope you enjoy!~Tismy 


	6. Confrontations of a Different Sort

Chapter 6-Confrontations of a Different Sort  
  
The morning dawned cold and overcast with a bitter wind biting through the air, and as soon as the couple awoke, they dressed and began to make their way to the great hall, hoping against hope that their latest challenge would be over within the next couple of hours. As Ginny had finished getting dressed for her classes, Harry had contacted Hermione, Ron, and Draco, the latter two promising to come to the castle as soon as they could, and Hermione planning on meeting them at breakfast before they proceeded to the headmasters office.  
  
Not surprisingly, they were among the first to arrive at the hall, but much to their relief, Hermione, Remus, and Sirius were the other professors present, but when they surveyed the students, they became instantly aware of two hard emerald glares focused directly on them. Harry caught their glares, and before he realized what he was doing, he had started to make his way toward the Gryffindor table, intent on talking some sense into his children, but before he had taken a dozen paces in their direction, a strong hand gripped his left arm, and as he focused his glare on Severus, another hand was resting on his right shoulder and the headmaster was speaking in his ear.  
  
"Harry, not here, we will discuss this in my office and figure out what is going on" he said as he physically directed the younger man out of the great hall, followed closely by Hermione, Ginny, Remus, and Sirius. Their conversation proceeded much the same way as the one the night before had, and after an hour of furious discussion, they were no closer to finding out how the children had come to know the truth, even after Ron and Draco had arrived. In the end, it was decided that the twins would be summoned to the headmasters office at the conclusion of the days lessons and if they refused to reveal their source for information that was of the utmost secrecy, then Harry would cast a spell on them that would force them to tell their source.  
  
It had been the plan in not telling the twins sooner that they would be able to keep the truth to themselves and not tell anyone else, for if anyone found that Harry had housed Voldemort's soul, or that he was his grandson, and the heir of Slytherin, the repercussions would have dangerous effects, to say the least. No one knew just how the wizarding world would react to these truths coming to light concerning the head of those who were supposed to protect them. Add this to the fact that the truth had been hidden for so many years by the headmaster and five professors of the most prestigious wizarding school and the top two aurors of the ministry of magic, and you have a disaster in the making, to say the least.  
  
The day's lessons had passed rather uneventfully, save one small fact, the twins didn't show up to any of them, nor did they come to lunch or dinner, causing the stress of the situation to just escalate even more.  
  
After speaking to all of their friends and classmates, the situation began to look hopeless. James and Lily had just vanished.  
  
"I should have spoken to them this morning! I should have explained everything immediately, not waited!" yelled Harry furiously as he paced around the headmasters office.  
  
"Harry, you mustn't be so hard on yourself. There was no way we could have known that they would disappear like this, and unless you can get yourself together, we won't be able to find them" said Hermione in an effort to calm her best friend turned brother in law.  
  
"Hermione's right, Harry, you need to get yourself together" said Draco calmly as he stretched back in one of the plush chairs "Besides, they're probably just in the village trying to let all of this sink in, after all, it is a lot of information and a lot of shocks to find out so fast"  
  
"Shut up, Malfoy, you wouldn't be so calm if it were Dylan out there, now would you, and while we're on the subject, neither of your children" he said as he rounded on Ron and Hermione, fixing them with the same glare as Draco "Have death threats against them, do they?" he asked angrily  
  
Upon hearing his words, the tension in the room multiplied as they all remembered that they weren't the only ones looking for James and Lily Potter. After several minutes of tense silence, the headmaster spoke up.  
  
"Harry, I know you are feeling upset and angry, but you are doing James and Lily no good by turning on your friends like this" he said gently and his words seemed to curb the worried fathers frazzled nerves slightly and he took a deep breath.  
  
"I'm sorry, I just don't know what to do" he said after a few moments and some of the tension dissipated with his words  
  
"Well, the first thing we need to do is search the village and the grounds more thoroughly, Remus, Sirius, you two search the castle, you know more of the secret passages, and ask the rest of the staff if they know anything that might be of help. Ron, Draco, you two search the village, ask around and see if the twins went there. Hermione, Ginny, you ask all of the students if they saw anything. Harry, Severus, you two change into your animagus forms and fly over the forest, Harry, talk to the inhabitants and see what they know. I'll remain here in case anyone finds anything and owl some of my contacts in other areas" said the headmaster and with nods all around, the group left on their respective missions, all but Harry and Snape who both transformed, Snape into a black hawk with gray tips on his wings and tail, and Harry into a solid black owl with a white lightning bolt on his left side and emerald green eyes. Both birds spread their wings and an instant later, they were gliding out the headmasters window in the direction of the forbidden forest.  
  
They started by merely flying over the forest and looking for the two children, but after three hours of fruitless searching, they decided to try a different routs and landed in a small clearing. Instantly, they had returned to their human forms.  
  
"So, what now?" asked Snape  
  
"Now, we talk to the animals around here and see what they know" said Harry bluntly  
  
"You have got to be kidding me, Potter, talking to the animals" said Snape with a snort "And how exactly do you plan on going about this?"  
  
Instead of answering, Harry merely shifted his staff to his left hand and transformed into a black unicorn, again, with a white lightning bolt, but this one was on his chest. He fixed his green eyes on his former professor and obediently, the older man changed again and began to hover in the air over the unicorn who began to trot into a deep thicket of trees. After about fifteen minutes of this, they reached another clearing and Snape was surprised to see about a dozen pure white unicorns, all perfectly at ease and lying on the thick grass. He perched himself on a low branch of one of the surrounding trees and watched the younger man approach the oldest unicorn. One that appeared almost silver in color with a gold horn. He observed as the black animal knelt down on one knee and the silver nodded her head before standing herself. They then stood facing each other for nearly ten minutes before Harry again bowed and the other knelt even lower as the black animal turned and made his way back toward the original clearing, Severus flying silently overhead.  
  
"So, what did she say?" asked Snape once they had both resumed their human shapes once again  
  
"They didn't see the twins, but they have seen strange men gathering in the forest for the past week. They have tried to stay away from them as much as possible, she said that they were evil and if they continue to come to this area of the forest, she is going to move the heard to a different home" he said heavily  
  
"Well, this can't be good" muttered Snape under his breath "Where to next?" he asked in a louder tone, and again, he received no response as Harry shifted into a wolf. Again, the process was repeated when the found the den of wolves, and again, they had no information on the twins, but their fears echoed those of the unicorns. This continued for another six hours, visiting the serpents, foxes, hawks, owls, and two dozen other animal groups, but with no luck. In fact, the only thing that they did manage to find out was that if things continued the way that they were proceeding, then the forest would be completely abandoned in a matter of weeks.  
  
Finally, frustrated and exhausted, the two professors spread their wings and returned to the castle, hoping that the others had had better luck.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
When they left the headmasters office, Ron and Draco proceeded directly to the large oak doors and began to cross the grounds. Hearing a loud screech from above, both looked up and saw the two black birds flying overhead.  
  
"Severus and Harry, I hope they can find something" said Ron quietly and Draco nodded in agreement. The rest of the trip into the village was spent in absolute silence and after a ten minute walk, they entered the busy village. Because it was winter, it was already quite dark, even though it was only seven in the evening, but the small village was teaming with witches and wizards who were finishing their shopping or going for a bite to eat, or a drink in the pub.  
  
"Ok, how about we split up and meet back here when we're finished. I'll check the north end of town, you take the south" suggested Ron and Draco nodded his head in agreement before setting off down high street while Ron headed up the road.  
  
They began by speaking to the shop owners, asking if they had seen any Hogwarts students around that day, and followed by asking if they had seen anything strange at all within the past days, but not surprisingly, no one knew anything at all. Next, they spoke to the shoppers and various inhabitants of the pubs and restraints, but again, those who were sober enough to understand what they were asking knew nothing, and those who weren't wouldn't have noticed anything anyway.  
  
Three hours later, they met up with each other in the middle of the village, both with disgruntled looks on their faces.  
  
"Judging by your expression, Weasley, I take it you found about as much as I did" said Draco as he collapsed onto one of the benches lining the street.  
  
"If you found absolutely nothing, then yes" said Ron as he fell beside the blonde with a heavy sigh "Poor Harry, this is all he needs right now" he said quietly  
  
"For once, I totally agree with you. Guy just can't get a break, can he?" asked Draco  
  
"Nope, if it's not one thing, it's another, and now he's having to look for his kids and find out information on this new wannabe dark lord" said Ron heavily as he began to massaged his temples  
  
The pair of aurors remained silent for several minutes before Ron once again got to his feet "Come on, we need to report back to Harry and Dumbledore" he said and groaning, Draco got to his feet as well. The pair headed silently back in the direction they had come from and after a short while, the enormous castle was once again within sight.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hermione and Ginny had gone at once to the Gryffindor common room to question Lily's friends, starting with Jasmine.  
  
"Sweetie, are you sure you didn't talk to Lily at all today?" asked Hermione for the fifth time  
  
"Yes, mum, I swear, she just got up this morning and went straight to breakfast. James came over and sat with her, but neither of them would talk to anyone and as soon as Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny came in, they left and I didn't see either of them again" she said as tears began to fill her eyes  
  
"Ok, well, thanks Jas, let me know if you hear anything else" said Ginny as she stood and proceeded to the rest of the Gryffindor students. They repeated their questions to every member of the house, and after an hour and a half of questioning, made their way to the Ravenclaw common room, followed by the Hufflepuffs, but neither house could help them at all so they tiredly made their way to the Slytherins' where they first cornered Dylan.  
  
"Dylan, did James say anything or do anything this morning that could help us find him?" asked Hermione quietly  
  
"No, when we got up, he was already dressed and gone. I went to the great hall to see if he was there, but I didn't see him until one of the other boy's asked why he was sitting at the Gryffindor table, but before I could go ask him, he and Lily got up and left together and I figured they were going to your rooms and that I would see him in charms, but he never showed up, and I haven't seen him all day" he said honestly as he looked from one surrogate aunt to the other.  
  
"Well, thank you Dylan" said Hermione as the two stood and after a quick good night, they began to speak to the rest of the house, but had just as much luck as the previous three. After midnight, they began to make their way toward the headmasters office, hoping the others had had more luck.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Remus and Sirius had begun their search by speaking to Hagrid, but to their disappointment, all they accomplished by that visit was a very upset half giant who had tried to cry on their shoulders at the news of the twins disappearance, much to the two men's dismay, and after the twenty minutes it had taken for them to calm the man down, they had found out nothing.  
  
Next, they had gone to the three heads of house that weren't searching on their own, and none were of any help since all were still in their quarters when the twins were at breakfast and arrived only after they had left.  
  
The same proved true for the caretaker and the remaining professors, all of whom expressed their deepest sympathy and hope for a good solution until they went up the stairs to the divination tower.  
  
"Sybil" began Remus once the two men had taken their seats beside the stifling fire "We were wondering if you had seen either James or Lily Potter at all today"  
  
"No, why do you ask?" she asked with true curiosity in her tone  
  
"Well, they were at breakfast this morning, but left early and didn't show up for any of their lessons today, now the other meals and we are worried that they may have gotten into some sort of trouble" he said honestly  
  
"Ah, well now that you mention it, my inner eye did foresee that the fate their father has managed to avoid so many times will strike the unfortunate children, for one man can only avoid death so many times before she begins to search out his loved ones. I am truly sorry that I am the bearer of such sad news, but please give my condolences to their parents" she said with an air of extreme sadness  
  
"Well, thank you Sybil" said Remus quickly as he dragged his best friend down the stairs before he hexed the woman for her comments. They then made their own way through the castle and searched all of the hidden passages that they knew of, but unfortunately, they found no sign of the two children, and they made their own way back up the stairs to meet the others in silence.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A/N: ok, I know this chapter is kind of confusing, but all will be explained, I promise. Furthermore, let me apologize for how long this took, I told you last time about my roommates evil boyfriend, well, he practically made her move in with him and no one had heard from her in over a week and we didn't know what was going on or if she was ok. The police got involved and everything, so needless to say, life has been pretty insane as of late, but the good news is that we found her this morning, as he was getting ready to take her with him to Mexico. So, she's home now and everything is settling down, but if any of you know of a good beta reader, let me know because she used to do it for me, but now she's gone for the next two months, so I need help, please! Anyways, thanks for all the reviews and I'll post the next one as soon as I get it done!~Tismy 


	7. Decisions and Old Friends

Chapter 7-Decisions and Old Friends  
  
When Harry and Severus returned to the headmasters office, they were not surprised to find that they were the last to finish the search. Hermione and Ron were sitting close together on one end of a plush couch, Ron's arm securely around the shoulders of his wife. Remus and Sirius were standing next to each other behind the headmasters desk, the latter leaning against the wall as though he were exhausted. Draco was sitting next to Ginny on another plush red couch, and by the looks of things, he was attempting to comfort the distraught mother. The aged headmaster was sitting behind his desk, apparently reading something out of a large tome when the door to his office had opened almost silently. Upon seeing her husband arrive, Ginny's eyes lit up hopefully until she got a good look at his face and began to tear up again.  
  
"Judging by your expressions, I would assume that none of you had any more luck than we did" said Harry as he collapsed into one of the large couches next to his wife who immediately cuddled up next to him, causing him to unconsciously wrap an arm around her tense shoulders.  
  
"We're sorry, Harry, but nobody has seen or heard anything from the twins since breakfast" said Sirius heavily as he massaged his head wearily, beside him on the couch, Remus nodded in agreement before speaking himself.  
  
"It's as though they just vanished into thin air, none of the students or people in the village have seen hide nor hair of them all day. I'm sorry Harry, I have no idea what to do now, or how to find them" he said honestly, for the first time in his life feeling completely hopeless and lost about offering advice to his best friends son.  
  
"I know, I just wish I hadn't kept refusing to tell them the truth, I should have known something like this was bound to happen!" shouted Harry furiously as he banged his clenched fist onto the small table beside him, rattling all of the small and spindly figures and causing several to fall to the carpeted floor with a soft thud.  
  
"Harry, love, calm down" said Ginny softly, and the others, knowing that the red head was the only one who would be successful in trying to calm him down, watched in silence "I know you're upset and angry, so am I, but there is no way that we'll find James and Lily if we act this way" she said logically and hearing her words, Harry closed his eyes for a few tense moments and breathed deeply before opening them again, and now, instead of anger and hopelessness radiating out of them, there was determination.  
  
"You're right" he said softly before his eyes surveyed the other members of the room, his closest friends, his family "Ok, does anybody have any ideas about how we get out of this one?" he asked, again putting his trust in those who had always been able to help him out of tricky situations before.  
  
The group remained in complete silence for several minutes, all lost in their own whirling thoughts and feelings, all trying desperately to come up with some solution and not a single person moving more than enough to breath.  
  
After nearly ten minutes, though, the silence was broken by a terrible screeching sound, and immediately, eight wands and a staff were aimed directly at the open window as nine minds were drawn back to a similar sound that brought only pain and fear to their hearts. The last time any of them had heard any sound similar to this, a sound that turned all of their blood to ice, Sirius had nearly died.  
  
Last time, it had been a black hawk that had uttered the terrible cry, a hawk sent by death eaters that had warned Harry to surrender or face his death, but when he had refused, the hawk had attacked, but instead of coming after Harry, she had struck Sirius with her poisoned talons and if it hadn't been for the golden phoenix guardian of the boy-who-lived, Terres, Sirius would have died that morning.  
  
As their minds all wandered back to that terrible day, their eyes remained trained onto the window, and a moment later, they were all standing in frozen shock as a hawk all to familiar flew through the window and left a piece of parchment at Harry's feet as it flew in lazy circles around the ceiling of the spacious office. The hawk was nearly twice the size of Severus' animagus form, and solid black from it's beak to its tail feathers, and its eyes were a fierce yellow color that were currently pinned on Harry as he glared right back at it. Before he was able to do anything else though, another cry from outside captured their attention and caused even more confusion. This cry was fare from bone chilling, instead, it was rich and melodious, causing them to all relax slightly, but at the same time, the cry was fearsome and upon hearing it, the hawks eyes widened and she let loose another shriek. An instant later, a streak of gold flew through the high opened window, and flew straight toward the hawk who in turn flew as quickly as she could back out the window, the gold streak right behind her, leaving the humans in stunned silence until Harry spoke up.  
  
"Terres?'" asked Harry in a soft voice, obviously in shock about seeing his guardian again after so long  
  
'It is I, my child' answered a sweet voice in his mind, ringing with a quiet reassurance  
  
"What are you doing here?" he asked in bewilderment  
  
'I told you, my child, that we would meet again when the need arose, and it is now that you will need my help. Your children are missing and another dark lord is trying to take up where Voldemort left off' she said, and he could clearly hear the worry and disdain in her usually calm voice as she spoke of Iniquitous.  
  
"What should we do?" he asked, hoping she would have the answers sinc he and all of his friends did not.  
  
'There is nothing we can do, my child, it is up to him to make the first move' she answered with regret 'We know not where he is hiding or who his followers are, and until we do, we can do nothing to stop him'  
  
"Where are you now?" he asked after her words had sunk in, wanting to see her to finish the difficult conversation in person so he could look her in the eye instead of speaking to a blank wall.  
  
'I am over the forest, ensuring that that despicable bird has left and will not return' she answered 'You would think that she learned her lesson last time' she added, and despite the seriousness of the situation, Harry felt a small smirk cross his features at the tone of Terres' voice  
  
"You mean to tell me that this is the same bird?" he asked  
  
'Yes, it is, my child, and as I said, you would think that she learned her lesson when she was nearly eaten by that winged lion'  
  
"you would think, but remember who she takes orders from, they aren't the smartest lot" said Harry, and behind him, he heard several of his friends chuckle quietly, and seeing as they could only hear his end of the conversation, he was mildly surprised that they had been able to understand what he and his guardian were speaking of, but apparently, they had.  
  
"Is it gone?" he asked after several moments when he no longer could hear the distant cries of the hawk  
  
'Yes, as soon as she was outside the school grounds, she vanished, she must have had a portkey on her that activated when she was outside of the wards to insure that she wasn't followed back to wherever her master is. There is no doubt that she is now among those who are behind this' Terres responded.  
  
"Ok, can you come back to the castle so we can finish this discussion?" he asked wearily, disappointed that Terres hadn't been able to give that hawk what she had coming  
  
'I'm on my way, my child' she responded, and a few moments later, she entered the office, this time at a much slower pace than the previous, and perched herself on Harry's shoulder who smiled a tight smile at her after admiring her beauty for a few moments.  
  
"It's good to see you again, Terres" he said quietly as he gently stroked her head  
  
'Likewise, my child, but now is not the time for greetings, you should read that letter' she instructed and his mood was immediately brought back down  
  
As soon as the golden bird was back in their sight, the eyes of all the occupants of the room turned to look at Harry who in turn had his attention focused on the parchment at his feet, forgotten until now because of the discussion with Terres. Without a word, he flicked his wrist and the letter unrolled and landed in his upturned palm. He read the entire contents in silence, and the others immediately knew that whatever he was reading was not good. His expression changed from grim, to worried, to angry in a matter of mere seconds before the figurines along the mantle of the headmasters fireplace began to rattle, as was the opened window, and fearing an explosion of magic, Ginny hesitantly laid a gentle hand on her husbands arm, hoping to distract him and find out what had gotten him so upset in the first place, but dreading that it was something about the twins.  
  
"Harry, what is it?" she asked quietly as she felt the eyes of the rest of the occupants in the room on her and wondering the same thing. Mutely, he handed the letter to his wife and after skimming its contents, she felt her eyes fill with tears for the hundredth time that day and she collapsed to her knees on the ground, and was barely aware that Harry had followed her until she felt his strong arms encircle her and she leaned into the embrace, finally giving into the emotions that had been threatening to overtake her.  
  
Seeing the distraught couple on the floor before them, the rest looked to each other in worry before Remus picked up the discarded letter and read it out loud in a quiet voice, that nonetheless carried through the entire office as though he were screaming the words.  
  
Potter,  
  
I don't believe that we've been properly introduced, my name is Iniquitous, and unlike Voldemort, I will defeat you.  
  
As you have probably guessed, I know everything about you.  
  
I know about your childhood and the verbal abuse you suffered from your relatives.  
  
I know about everything that happened during your first five years of Hogwarts.  
  
I know about the final battle on the schools grounds.  
  
I know about the chamber and the torture you went through at the hands of the remaining death eaters, and better still, I know how you escaped.  
  
I know about the soul that resided inside of you for the year and a half after you had returned, and I know about your little journey into the past with your precious godfather.  
  
I know about that Christmas day, and that you really died at the hands of your friends and family.  
  
But the most important part, is that I know about your family, all about it, and I am sorry to say that your grandfather lacked the skills necessary to achieve his goals, unlike me.  
  
Now that we have established what I know of, let me inform you of some things that you are not aware of.  
  
Your children, as I'm sure you have been informed, have come to know these truths that have been kept from then their entire lives, and needless to say, they weren't too pleased by what I revealed to them.  
  
Now, you may be asking yourself why they would be so angry that they were ill informed about things that were clearly before their time and that have no bearing on their lives now, so allow me to explain.  
  
You see, Potter, I wasn't completely truthful with your children, I'm not sorry to say.  
  
I didn't tell them everything about the past, just what they needed to know to turn against you and the rest of those who haven't been entirely truthful with them, instead, using half truths and white lies to achieve my goal.  
  
I showed them images of you attacking students and professors, of those same students and professors killing you, among others that would help to sway them to my cause, and it worked.  
  
I will be brief, for I have many plans for the near future.  
  
Your children are powerful, immensely so, perhaps not as powerful as yourself, but their strength is enough for what I need.  
  
With their combined energies focused against you and your cause, it will be enough to succeed where Voldemort failed, and since I know you would never do anything to harm your precious children, I WILL be successful.  
  
You can give up your hopeless search, Potter, I have your children, and once they have served their purposes, I will dispose of them, and nothing you do can stop me from achieving my goals.  
  
You know not where to find me, and not even your incredible powers can help you there, and by the time I reveal myself to the wizarding world, it will be to late to stop me and I will win.  
  
Enjoy the remaining peace, Potter, for we are once again on the brink of war and your children will be among the casualties, as well as all the others that you hold dear.  
  
Iniquitous  
  
A/N: I know, I know, it's short and extremely late, but at least I got something posted, right? Ok, blame it on the fact that I managed to break a rib and fracture my collar bone about a month ago, it's really hard to type with one arm, you know. Ok, I promise that it will be longer next time, and this has not been beta read yet, the corrected version will be up shortly. Oh yeah, I started a yahoo group since I'm getting sick of ff.net always being stupid, I will still post here, but I'll post there first, especially when I can't get on this site. Go ahead and join! And feel free to post anything you want to there, as long as it's appropriate, I like reading a good fic just as much as the next bored college student. Ok, hope you liked it and it explained some things, review and let me know what you think, and while you're waiting for the next chapter, check out my other story, I need some opinions on weather or not to continue it, it's called Reestablishing Trust and you can find it on my profile page as well as the link to my group, have a good day and I'll update soon, promise! ~Tismy~ 


	8. Worries and Disappearances

Chapter 8-Worries and Disappearances  
  
After Remus had finished reading the foreboding letter, the occupants of the office sat in a silence broken only by their own breathing for what felt like an eternity before Harry spoke up, looking to his guardian with determined eyes.  
  
"Any suggestions?" he asked hopefully  
  
'I'm afraid not, my child, there is nothing we can do right now except to prepare for the inevitable battle' she answered quietly, sounding like a mournful phoenix song to anyone else but speaking perfect English to Harry.  
  
"I will not fight my children, no matter what" he said forcefully as he hit the floor with his clenched fist, catching all the attention of those in the room.  
  
'I am not asking you to, but there is nobody who knows where James and Lily are who is willing to tell us, and since you are even unable to locate them where ever they are being hidden, there is little else that we can do. You will have to fight Iniquitous eventually, and from what we have seen so far, he is a very powerful wizard and you need to be at your best in order to fight him and win without endangering your children anymore than they already are' she answered calmly.  
  
"I guess your right, but I WILL find them, and I won't stop looking until I do, even if the search is hopeless. They are the most important thing in the world to me and I won't loose them." He said in determination as he stood and helped Ginny to her feet before turning back to the others in the office as Terres took flight through the window "I would recommend that you all get some sleep, beginning tomorrow, we will get ready for the coming war, and we will stop it before it has a chance to begin this time" he said before striding from the office with a tear streaked but equally determined Ginny at his side.  
  
When the couple returned to their rooms, Harry allowed his mask to fall and looked every bit the worried father that he currently was.  
  
"Harry?" said Ginny softly as she joined him on the couch after she had conjured a tea set, the one word asking a thousand questions.  
  
"I don't know what to do, Gin" he admitted as he buried his head in his hands "Before, it was me against the bad guys, but this time, it's not just me against them, James and Lily are thrust into the middle of a battle that they had nothing to do with. He wants to get rid of me, but he's going to use my kids to do so. What do I do about that? I could never hurt the twins, but if I allow him to do what he plans, then the entire world is at risk from a threat we know nothing about. Where did he come from and how did he ever find out so much about me? I know that there are only a handful of people that know some of those things, and others, such as the things with the Dursleys, no one else knew, not even you, yet he found out, how? How do I fight a man who knows everything there is to know about me and even hope to win?" he asked with his head still in his hands.  
  
"Simple, you do what you think is right, no matter what. You are the most powerful wizard who has ever lived, and nothing Iniquitous can do can change that. You love the twins and they love you, this was all just a terrible misunderstanding on their part, and once they realize the truth they'll understand how harsh they were in judging you and they will come to their senses. They're smart kids, the smartest that I've ever known and I'm not just saying that because they're mine either. Things will work out alright, just wait and see." She said and not for the first time, Harry wondered who the most powerful one was, for her words had more of an affect on him than even the most potent calming spell or potion would have ever had.  
  
After her speech, they finished their tea in silence before curling up on the couch together and falling into a restless sleep, both plagued by nightmares of what the future held if they couldn't find the twins in time, nightmares mirrored by those closest to them asleep in their own corners of the massive castle.  
  
Harry was the first to wake the next morning, and as soon as his eyes were open he had an idea. Carefully, he extracted himself from his wife's arms and got to his feet. With a quick wave of his hand, he was wearing his ministry robes and dragonhide boots and with another wave, his sword and dagger were strapped securely to his hips. He then grabbed his thick scarlet and gold cloak from the back of the sofa where he had left it the day before and fastened it around his shoulders, effectively hiding the weapons from the casual eye. After taking up his staff, he set off toward the door, pausing only long enough to leave a letter for Ginny on the table in front of the couch. Once outside their rooms, he hurriedly made his way to the entrance hall and then off the school grounds where he apparated straight to the ministry's auror headquarters. Sure, he could have just apparated straight from his rooms to the ministry, but seeing as both places had antiapparation wards erected around them, it required quite a bit of energy that he didn't want to expend that morning, he had more important things to use it for.  
  
Once in his office, he completely ignored his desk and the mountain of paperwork and mail sitting on top of it and instead headed straight to the large cabinet behind it where he kept his own supply of potions, made by the highest ranking potions masters in the world, Severus Snape included. After nearly twenty minutes of sifting through the over five hundred small vials, his face broke into an expression of victory as he removed one containing a translucent blue potion and settled behind his desk, twirling the potion absently between his fingers, deep in thought. His thoughts were broken a moment later though, when the door to his office burst open and one of his junior assistants hurried in.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Potter, I didn't know that you were going to be here this morning" she said quickly, her face blushing slightly at her mistake at not knocking.  
  
"That's alright, Jodie, is there something I can help you with?" he asked out of sheer habit.  
  
"This just came for you, sir, and I was just going to add it to the rest" she said as she held up the sealed envelope.  
  
"Thank you" said Harry as he reached across the desk to take it from her, and once deciding it was of little importance, he went to place it in the pile beside him before he noticed the topmost letter, addressed in red ink in a now familiar scrawl. "When did this get here?" he asked as he held up the letter in trembling hands.  
  
"I don't know? Who's it from?" asked Jodie as she peered at the letter in curiosity, but Harry had already torn it open and was reading it quickly.  
  
"Contact Draco and Ron, tell them that they're going to have to handle things here for a little while" he said as he got to his feet and apparated away, leaving the letter to float to the ground on its own. The assistant quickly went back to her desk and after grabbing some floo powder in her hand, ran to the closest fireplace and called first Ron.  
  
"What is it Jodie?" he asked as he stumbled over to the fireplace, rubbing sleep from his eyes, it was, after all, only six in the morning.  
  
"Mr. Potter asked me to contact you and Mr. Malfoy and tell you that he wanted you to handle things here for a little while" she said quietly, not wanting to wake Hermione who she could just see still asleep on the bed.  
  
"WHAT!?" roared Ron "Where is Harry?" he demanded harshly  
  
"I don't know, he was here for a little while, then he read some letter that was on his desk and told me to contact you before he apparated away" she said quickly, not understanding why Ron was so upset.  
  
"Who was the letter from?" he asked a little more calmly since Hermione now had her hand on his shoulder.  
  
"I don't know" she said, her voice wavering slightly "But he left it in his office" she added hopefully.  
  
"Ok, don't touch that letter, I'll get a hold of Draco and we'll be there in ten minutes, don't touch the letter and don' let anyone else into his office" ordered Ron as he stood and an instant later Jodie's head was out of their fire.  
  
"What happened?" asked Hermione as Ron began ot dress in his own ministry robes.  
  
"I'm not sure, all she said was that Harry read a letter that was on his desk and told her to let me and Draco know that we were going to be in charge for a while before he disapparated. She doesn't know who the letter was from or where he went." He added as he grabbed his cloak and fastened it to help with the undoubtedly chilly weather outside.  
  
"What was he doing at the ministry this early in the morning anyways?" asked Hermione, looking out the window to see that the sun was just peaking out from over the trees of the forbidden forest just as their was a knock at their door "Come in" she yelled once she had found her dressing gown.  
  
"Ron? Hermione?" asked a voice from the living room that both recognized at once as Ginny's. They shared a worried glance before Ron spoke up.  
  
"In the bedroom" he called to his little sister.  
  
"Where are you going, Ron?" she asked once she saw her brother's outfit.  
  
"To the ministry" he answered as he bent to tie his shoes  
  
"Did something happen?" she asked worriedly  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Hermione  
  
"Well, Harry left early this morning to go to the ministry too, and he only goes when something important happened" she said as she showed them the letter he had left for her.  
  
Gin,  
  
Gone to the ministry, be back before lunch.  
  
Love,  
  
Harry  
  
"He left it on the living room table while I was asleep" she explained  
  
"I don't know what's going on, all I know is that Jodie fire called me this morning and said that Harry told her to let me and Draco know that we need to keep an eye on things there for a while after he read a letter that had been left for him." He explained as he got to his feet and pocketed his wand "I'll call you when I know what's going on" he said as kissed Hermione before he left the room and headed toward Draco's room.  
  
He quickly explained what was going on to the half asleep Draco and within ten minutes, the pair were on their way to the edge of the school grounds where they could apparated to the ministry to try and figure out just where their boss and friend had taken off to so quickly without any warning, and to read the mysterious letter that had been left behind.  
  
When they arrived at the Ministries apparition point, they found an anxious looking Jodie waiting for them as well as Kristin Malfoy, who immediately enveloped Draco in a tight hug. They had been separated for over a week now due to a mission that she had been on, and therefore she had no idea about what had been happening. Taking the lead by several paces, Ron and Jodie allowed him to fill her in.  
  
By the time they reached the head aurors office, Kristin looked just as somber and worried as the two men.  
  
"Thank you Jodie, we can take it from here. Please close the door on your way out" said Draco as Ron was cautiously approaching the sheet of parchment that was lying on the floor just behind the desk.  
  
Not wanting to trust the sender not to have cursed the letter with something that Harry could block but that would kill a normal man, Ron used his wand to levitate it to his eye level and the three began to read.  
  
Potter,  
  
If you want to see your children alive again, meet me at the place where your nightmares began before sunrise today. We will be waiting for you and I will give you one opportunity to try and persuade them to leave with you, but if you can't, your worst fears will come true. Sunrise, Potter, come alone and don't be late.  
  
Iniquitous  
  
"Bloody hell Potter, what have you gotten yourself into this time" muttered Malfoy as the trio looked out the window to see the sun high in the sky, having risen nearly an hour ago, just when Jodie had waken Ron up.  
  
"Where is he?" asked Kristin, rereading the part about where to meet the evil wizard and his kids again.  
  
"I don't know" said Ron quietly, his brow furrowed in concentration before he cursed and strode over to the fire where he grabbed a handful of powder and shouted his wife's name. After a hurried conversation, he backed out of the fire and stood. A minute later, Hermione appeared out of the fire, and as she was dusting herself off, Ginny came through as well.  
  
"Well, what have you found?" Hermione asked at once. Mutely Ron motioned to the letter he had left on the desk, both read it quickly and Ginny's eyes became even more worried and Hermione's became thoughtful.  
  
"Where do you think they are?" asked Ron after several moments.  
  
"I'm not sure, it could be several places. Harry had a lot of nightmares that came true, that his parents were killed, that Voldemort would come back, that he would get control and hurt someone, that he would be tortured until he gave up, that he would die. The list goes on and on, he could be anywhere" said Hermione in exasperation as she collapsed into a seat.  
  
"The graveyard" said Ginny quietly "He once told me that his worst nightmare was that Voldemort would come back and that we would once again be at war and that happened at the graveyard by the Riddle house"  
  
"But how do we get there? Do any of you know where it is?" asked Kristin  
  
"Little Hanglington" answered Hermione promptly and after several amazed looks were sent her way she elaborated "I looked it up after he told us about the tournament" she explained quickly.  
  
"Ok, lets go then" said Ron and at once he turned on his heal and strode from the office, the other four right behind him.  
  
A/N: Ok, several months later, I actually update. Thank you all for your kind words and patience, updates will be more regular now that things have calmed down. Take a look at my new colt if you want to, his name is Dakota and there is a picture of him on my group page. Let me know what you think and if you get bored, check out my other story Reestablishing Trust. Please review!  
  
Misty 


	9. Meetings

Chapter 9  
  
At the same time that so many people were searching for them, James and Lily were in a large and ornately decorated bedroom together in an ancient mansion atop a rounded hill.  
  
"So, what do we do now?" asked James from his seat at the old wooden desk.  
  
"We do what we have to do" answered Lily from the queen sized bed she was lying on.  
  
"Which is?" asked James in irritation. Even though Lily was usually the most lighthearted and carefree of the pair, she would occasionally get into these vague and confusing moods, quite similar to the customary state of the headmaster of Hogwarts.  
  
Lily sighed heavily and sat up on her knees like she was getting ready to explain something really simple to young, dumb child. James just humored her with an expressionless mask, she may act like their Aunt Hermione, but he wasn't a Slytherin for nothing, he had learned a few things from his housemates and head of house during his years at Hogwarts.  
  
"Well, we have three options, really" began Lily finally after she was resettled on the bed "First, we go back to Hogwarts and pretend like everything is like it used to be and live a life of complete lies again. Or, second, we leave Iniquitous and everyone at Hogwarts behind and try to make it on our own, which would be impossible since we are too young to support ourselves. Or, third, we stay with Iniquitous, who was the only one to show us the truth about who and what our parents and their friends are, and try to stop them from succeeding in their goals" she finished quietly with her eyes trained on the bedspread..  
  
"I know all of that, and there is only one choice we could possibly make and live with for the rest of our lives, but does any of this feel strange to you?" asked James in an equally quiet voice without meeting his sisters eyes.  
  
"You mean going against everything we have ever been taught and told for our entire lives?" asked Lily abruptly as she locked gazes with her brother.  
  
"Yes, that and challenging our parents like this" elaborated James  
  
"It does, but it just seems like the only thing we can do" said Lily  
  
"I know what you mean, it's either do this or go back and let them force us into becoming who they want us to be" said James with a sigh.  
  
"Why do you think they did all that?" asked Lily suddenly of her brother, and he knew what she was talking about instantly because he had been wondering the same thing since all of this had started.  
  
"I'm not sure exactly, but I have a few ideas" he began "You know how father was the boy-who-lived and everything?" at Lily's nod he continued "Well, I think that having the hopes of the entire wizarding world on his shoulders like that caused him to do whatever he felt necessary in order to defeat the dark lord" he said as he stared out the window at the rapidly darkening horizon over the distant forest as he gathered the rest of his thoughts before continuing.  
  
"What are you getting at James?" asked Lily in confusion, her brothers words had made no sense and she was becoming impatient at having to wait for him to continue.  
  
"Just that because of the pressure he was under that he was forced to become a little dark himself in order to defeat the dark" he said and his previous words now made much more sense.  
  
"Ok, I think I agree with you on all of this, but where do mum and the rest fit into all of this?" she asked after a moments silence  
  
"Well, judging by what we saw, I think that at first they were scared of him and of everything that he had done, like cursing Sirius and everything, and that's why they attacked him, but apparently something happened and he was able to win them over to his side, and I would bet anything that they were just so grateful for him defeating the dark lord and they felt indebted to him. That combined with the fact that he is so much stronger than everyone else. They were probably too scared to fight against him and were eventually brainwashed into thinking how he does and covering up everything that had happened" answered James, and to two thirteen year olds, the explanation sounded not only plausible, but perfectly reasonable, especially given the limited information they had been given from their family and Iniquitous.  
  
"I guess your right, but what can we do to fix all of this?" asked Lily finally.  
  
"Just what Iniquitous told us we have to do, stop fathers quest to rule the wizarding world before he manages to corrupt anyone else. So many already follow him who have no idea about what an evil person he became, I bet none of them even know that he has cast an unforgivable curse at those who love him, or that they even tried to stop him but weren't successful."  
  
"You're right, we are the only ones who have any hope of standing up to his power, no one else is anywhere near him as far as his magical powers are concerned, no one but the two of us when we work together" said Lily with a determined look on her face.  
  
Just then there was a pop as a house elf appeared in the room "Master James, Mistress Lily, your presence has been requested in the main hall for dinner immediately" he said in his high squeaky voice before he bowed and disappeared with another pop.  
  
"Well, we must be going then, I guess" said James as he got to his feet and pulled his sister up off the bed before they both strode from the large bedroom and through the maze of passages to the main dining hall in silence.  
  
"Children, please join me" said the deep and commanding voice of their host as soon as they had entered. Even though they trusted and followed the man, he still made them nervous. "I hope your day was productive" he said as he waved his hand and the house elves began to serve them.  
  
"Yes sir, the library here is quite useful and large" answered James as Lily began to eat in silence.  
  
"I'm glad you appreciate it and I hope you will get some good use out of it while you are here"  
  
"Thank you, sir" said Lily quietly.  
  
"You are quite welcome. Now onto more pressing matters. There is something I must ask of you two. I sent a letter to your father asking him to meet me in the morning and I would like you to accompany me to this meeting. Now, before you get worried, I am not asking you to challenge your father at this time, but you must be prepared in case something does happen. Many of my followers will be there as well so you will have nothing to fear from your father" he said when he noted their worried expressions.  
  
"Why are you meeting him now if you don't plan on challenging him?" asked James hesitantly when it became obvious that he wouldn't otherwise be getting the answer.  
  
"Merely to talk to him on peaceful terms to establish my cause to him and give him the opportunity to come clean before open warfare becomes necessary" he answered smoothly "Now, finish your dinner. I will meet you in the entrance hall an hour before sunrise, don't be late" he instructed as he stood and left the room, leaving two nervous and silent teenagers behind him.  
  
Neither James nor Lily spoke a word as they finished their meals before they each left for their own rooms to get a few hours of sleep before they were meet their father and announce to him that they would stand against him unless he allowed the truth to come out and faced the consequences of his actions.  
  
When they were awakened the next morning by a house elf, both dressed in plain black robes that were brought to them and proceeded to the entrance hall, arriving at the same time as their host.  
  
"Good morning, children, I trust you slept well?" he asked as he handed them each a heavy black cloak which they wrapped around their shoulders. When they both nodded their heads mutely he continued "Now, each of you drink up, we can't have you catching colds out in this wretched weather" he said as he handed them each a vile of silver liquid, and after sharing a quick glance with each other, they downed the contents, each felling a douse of cold before warmth overtook them "Come now, we mustn't keep our guest waiting" he said as he strode from the hall and out the door into the rain, James and Lily on his heels. As soon as they had cleared the threshold, they were joined by nearly thirty black clad people who fell into step behind the teenagers. The large group walked in silence down the hill and to a large graveyard located at the bottom of it, where even more people clad in black robes were waiting for them, surrounding the perimeter of the graveyard and creating an imposing blockade. "Now, we wait for the guest of honor to join us" said Iniquitous and the entire gathering fell into silence for nearly twenty minutes before a soft pop sounded from somewhere outside of the perimeter of those gathered. "Ah, Harry Potter, please, join us" said Iniquitous with a broad sweep of his arms, and instantly those gathered on the opposite side of the clearing parted and allowed a man wearing the blue robes trimmed in gold of a high ranking ministry official and a scarlet and gold cloak to enter the clearing.  
  
"Where are my children?" he demanded as soon as he had laid eyes on the smiling man, his hand tightening on his staff and the other clenched into a fist.  
  
"There is nothing to fear, Potter, they are here" said Iniquitous as he motioned to the twins who were standing behind him, flanked by several of his followers.  
  
"James, Lily, are you ok?" asked Harry as he began to walk toward his children, but before he had taken a half dozen steps, his arms were gripped to his sides and he was face to face with nearly twenty wands. "I wouldn't try that if I were you" he growled to those standing against him.  
  
"Now now, Potter, we have done nothing to warrant an attack from you" said Iniquitous.  
  
"Let me go and give me my children now, or you will regret it" warned Harry as he tried to pull his arms from the grasp that they were held in, with no success.  
  
"I'm sorry, Potter, but I can't do that, for we have much to discuss. Now, as I see it, you have two options, firstly, you inform the wizarding world about what really happened between you and Voldemort and face the consequences, or you can stand back and let me do the honors for you" he said as he strode in a circle around the restrained Harry.  
  
"What does any of that have to do with you? Why do you care what happened so many years ago? And what baring does any of this have on my children?" demanded Harry in confusion.  
  
"Simple, Potter, once the wizarding world realizes that you are nothing but a fraud, they will rise against you and those that foolishly follow you, and I intend to lead that uprising. You see, no one wants to follow someone who has knowingly cast unforgivable curses and attacked others using dark magic. Furthermore, they won't want to follow the one who was possessed by Voldemort, after all, how can anyone be certain that you aren't controlled by him even now?" he asked with his brow furrowed.  
  
"No one will believe what you tell them" said Harry with confidence that he didn't really feel.  
  
"That is where you are wrong, Potter, just look at your children, once they heard the truth they turned against you and you have raised them for their entire lives. The others won't even take that much convincing"  
  
"You're wrong" said Harry forcefully as he again struggled against his captors.  
  
"Perhaps, but we will not know for sure until after you are defeated, not even I am so foolish as to try this while you are alive. But never fear, the battle won't happen tonight, no, tonight we will just weaken you" he said and with a wave of his wand, the manacles on his wrists began to glow a deep red, almost black and his wrists began to burn as though the metal were on fire.  
  
Harry gasped in pain and his staff fell from his grasp at his side as he fell hard to his knees as soon as the other men had released him "Wh...what are you doing?" he stuttered out as he pulled his arms up to his chest in a vain hope of alleviating the burning in his wrists.  
  
"Nothing much, just reenacting the spell that was placed on those when they were first put on you so that you can't escape too easily. But I will admit, I have added a few more...interesting aspects of my own. Not to pleasant, is it?" he asked as he nodded his head toward one of his followers who raised his wand and muttered "crucio" so quietly that Harry didn't have any warning about what was going to hit him.  
  
Immediately, Harry was lying on his side on the muddy ground, his teeth clenched in agony and every muscle was tightened in unbearable pain, amplified by the spells that bound his magic and weakened him almost to the point of exhaustion. He was hesitant to fight back, with the innocent eyes of his children watching everything he did, he couldn't give them even more reason to hate him. He would just take the pain and hope that they realized how wrong all of this was.  
  
He was held under the curse for nearly ten minutes before it was lifted and he was left panting, gasping, and trembling on the muddy ground.  
  
"Tell me, James, Lily, what do you think of your great father now? Do you still believe him to be the most powerful wizard to have ever lived? Do you still think him unbeatable?" he asked as he turned to face the two children, both of whom had looks of pure loathing on their young faces.  
  
"Kids, please...don't believe him...he's just trying to...turn you against...us" gasped Harry weakly before he was over taken by a violent coughing fit.  
  
"Potter, this is your chance, the only one I'm going to give you, to try and get your children to leave with you. You have two minutes, make them count" he said before he turned in a swirl of robes and motioned for James and Lily to step forward.  
  
Harry struggled to his feet unsteadily and absently wiped a trickle of blood from his chin where he had bit his lip during the duration of the curse. Ignoring the weakness caused by the permanent bands around his wrists and the pain still coursing through his body, he looked into the eyes of his children, both pairs of eyes inherited from their Slytherin heritage, identical to his own. He grasped his staff, for nothing more than to help him remain on his own two feet since he was unable to perform any magic at the moment.  
  
"James, Lily, please, listen to me" he began before he broke down into a coughing fit once again, causing more pain to shoot through his body for a few moments before he could continue "I don't know what he's told you, but you can't jump to conclusions based on it. Give us a chance to tell you the whole story, there is so much that no one else knows about" he said, pausing for a moment to allow them to think it over.  
  
"Why didn't you just tell us the truth from the beginning?" asked James  
  
"Because, I didn't want you to have to bear it, I was eighteen before I found out a lot of this, and it still took me years to come to terms with it, I didn't want you to have to go through all of this while you were so young" he said weakly as he felt his weight overpowering his shaky legs.  
  
"Is that it, or were you just trying to hide the fact that Voldemort possessed you and that you attacked a school full of children and tried to torture our mother and your godfather" said Lily, and before he could respond, James began speaking as well.  
  
"Perhaps you were trying to hide the relationship between yourself and Voldemort and the fact that you are the last heir of Salazar Slytherin as well. Or maybe it was the fact that you have somehow managed to brainwash mum and the others into believing that you fight for good when in actuality you are trying to take Voldemort's place" he said coolly.  
  
"No, you don't understand, he has lied to you" protested Harry weakly as his vision swam violently.  
  
"Times up, Potter, James, Lily, please return to the house, you five accompany them" he said as he pointed to five of his followers who had come with them to the graveyard and at once, the group left "Gentlemen, enjoy yourselves, but leave him alive, this battle doesn't end yet" he said as he turned once again to face Harry "And Potter, just so that you know, your children are now mine, and as soon as they have done what it is I want them to do, I will kill them, and it's all your fault for not being honest with them from the start. I want you to live with this thought for a time, and I want to see you humiliated in front of those who once revered you before I watch you die at the hands of those whom you love so much you wouldn't dare to fight back" he said so quietly that he couldn't be overheard and in a hissing voice frighteningly similar to Voldemort's.  
  
The next ten minutes were filled with the sounds of the black clad men taking turns beating Harry, punches and kicks rained down on his already weakened form with the occasional cruciatus curse thrown in for good measure, but no matter what, Harry refused to cry out. He had been through far worse in his past at the hands of Voldemort and the death eaters.  
  
After the round of torture, Iniquitous ordered that he stand, and two of the other men yanked him to his feet and after gripping his staff once again, he was able to stand on his own, although very shakily. "You are weak, Potter, you always have been. Strong men would not have allowed this to happen to them. Strong men would not have allowed another man to take his children and turn them against him. You are and always have been weak, Potter"  
  
With that being said, he turned his back on and infuriated Harry and began to walk away when a strange sound cut the silence, without a word, he waved his wand and the gleaming Gryffindor sword flew into his hand "Low, Potter, even for you, trying to attack an unarmed man from behind" he said as he turned back around to face the black haired man "And I won't tolerate it" he hissed before he thrust the sword toward the man, sending the sharp blade directly into his stomach with no reaction whatsoever.  
  
Harry couldn't help it, he screamed out in agony as the blade ran through his abdomen, his hands gripping his stomach and immediately becoming coated in thick blood. Iniquitous let go of the hilt and Harry fell onto his side, gasping. His vision clouded over and the sounds of the forest faded, but before it was completely silent within his mind, he heard one more thing "We will meet again, Potter, and you will die" and with those words swimming through his mind, he surrendered to the pain and lost consciousness, his hands still gripping the blade that was implanted in his stomach.  
  
"Leave him, no doubt his friends will be here soon. I will contact you when it is time" said Iniquitous as he strode from the clearing toward the large house, the sounds of his followers disapparating around him until the graveyard was completely empty except for the bruised and bleeding unconscious Harry lying among the old decaying tombstones.  
  
It was nearly an hour later before there was any other sound in the graveyard, another series of pops as more people apparated.  
  
"I don't think anyone is here. Are you sure this is the right place?" asked Draco as he surveyed his immediate surroundings and saw nothing out of the ordinary.  
  
"Well, lets at least look around and make sure we don't miss anything, for all we know they could have already left and Harry is back at Hogwarts or the ministry as we speak" said Hermione hopefully to the rest of group consisting Ron, Draco, Ginny, and Kristin.  
  
"Ok, be careful though, you never know when someone is going to show up" said Ron as they all pulled their wands and began to walk through the graveyard.  
  
"You know, this place is even more creepy in person than Harry described it" muttered Ginny as she trembled involuntarily at the shadows and unnatural silence.  
  
"I agree" answered Hermione quietly as they followed the three aurors further into the clearing, their eyes constantly scanning the dim forest that surrounded the graveyard. Only a few minutes had passed before Ron stopped in his tracks and broke the uneasy silence.  
  
"Oh Merlin, Harry" he whispered before he broke into a run, drawing the attention of the others. What they saw caused their blood to run cold. There, between a pair of headstones was the famous Harry Potter, bruised and unconscious, lying in a large pool of his own blood.  
  
"NO! HARRY!" screamed Ginny as she too rushed forward and fell to the ground beside her brother who was shakily checking her husbands neck for a pulse.  
  
"He's alive, but not for long, we need to get him to a healer" said Ron with a sigh after feeling a weak pulse.  
  
"Who did this?" asked Kristin hoarsely, her eyes never leaving the sword.  
  
"I don't know, but they had to have done something to him to keep him from retaliating, no one is strong enough to take him on under normal circumstances" said Draco and all the others silently agreed with him.  
  
"Here, everyone grab on" said Hermione as she held out a tree branch that she had turned into a portkey.  
  
Without a word, they did as she said and in a swirl of color, they found themselves on the floor of the great hall of Hogwarts.  
  
"We can't move him, Kristin, go get Poppy, Draco, get the headmaster and Remus and Sirius, we'll wait here" she said as she began casting spells to heal the minor damage and slow the bleeding. It took only a few minutes for Poppy to show up, and when she did, it took a moment for her to regain enough composure to begin treating the head auror.  
  
A/N: I know it's been forever, but real life has a tendency of getting in the way occasionally, and I can't do anything about that. The new semester started and I'm taking senior level classes that require a lot of studying. I know it's not an excuse, but it's the truth. Ok, let me know what you think, and I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible, but all I can promise is that it won't take months like this one did, hopefully a couple of weeks tops. Oh, yeah, this would have been out almost a week ago, but I was banned from posting for a time because I broke that stupid new rule about not having chapters for A/N's or announcements. I didn't even know there was a rule against it or anything, but oh well. Enjoy and please review, it encourages me to get the next part up faster! 


	10. Aftermath

Chapter 10

It took nearly an hour for Harry to be healed enough to be moved to the hospital wing, and another four after that before Poppy was satisfied that she had done all she could for him and shooed all those around the bed to her office after casting several spells around the bed to notify her if Harry's condition changed.

"Will he be ok?" were the first words out of Ginny's mouth as soon as the door was shut.

"I think so" said Poppy wearily as she sat heavily behind her desk

"Can you tell what happened to him?" asked the headmaster

"As far as I can tell, he was physically beaten and head several curses cast on him, including the cruciatus and his wrists have third degree burns around both of them, but I can't even begin to guess the source of them. I healed his wounds as best I could, but the strange part was that his body seems resistant to healing spells and potions, and his magical reserve levels are the equivalent of a first year. Also, his energy reserves are critically low, but I'm not sure why" she said, her voice laced with confusion and exhaustion.

"What do you mean? Harry is the most powerful wizard in the world, even on his worst day, he could still beat the entire department of defense with his eyes closed and one arm tied behind his back" said Sirius

"I know, but right now, his magical levels are even lower than they were when he was first brought here from the muggle hospital" she said tensely.

"Could he have been in a very difficult dual or something?" asked Remus

"Not likely, I cast Prior Incantatum on his staff and the last spell Harry cast was to apparate to the graveyard, and judging by the note, it was obvious that that was where he met Iniquitous, but what happened after that will be a mystery until he wakes up." Said Dumbledore

"When will that be?" asked Ron

"I'm not sure, normally I would say a couple of hours, but with his reserves so low, it could be several days, a week or more. I can't give you an exact time, in the meantime, I would ask that only one person remain with him at a time, the rest of you need your rest, this has been a trying day for everyone" said Poppy before she tiredly excused herself to her rooms for the night.

"I'll stay with him tonight and before you protest Gin, you need some sleep. Poppy said he probably wouldn't wake tonight and you can come up here after breakfast. Hermione will stay with you tonight if you want, but try and get some sleep" said Ron, doing something he hadn't done since they were children at Hogwarts, pulling his big brother card to get her to do what he asked of her. And, for the first time since she was a small girl, she didn't argue, instead, she nodded her head and after ghosting a kiss on her husband's pale forehead, she left the wing toward their rooms.

After being ordered to return to the manor, James and Lily went to Lily's room and sat side by side in silence on her bed for nearly an hour.

"Did he look evil to you?" James finally asked

"No, he looked scared" said Lily without a second thought

"I know, but why didn't he fight back?"

"Because we were there" she responded quietly

"And because of that, he was hurt. He could have easily taken then on, but now he's down there alone with them"

"What did Iniquitous mean, about the bracelets dad wears taking his power? He always said that they were a family heirloom, how could they weaken him? And why were they hurting him?" she questioned aloud, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"I'm not sure, but they seemed to be draining his magical power as well as his physical strength. He actually appeared weak" he responded

"Why did they curse him like that?" Lily asked suddenly

"Because, my dear child, if we hadn't cursed him, then he would have cursed us instead, we had to weaken him in order to keep ourselves safe. I'm sorry you had to bear witness to that, but it was necessary" he said as he discreetly drew his wand and aimed it at the two of them "Obliviate" he muttered under his breath before pulling another two vials of potion from his pocket and pouring one forcefully down each of their throats before the blank looks had vanished from their eyes. "Now, would you two please join me for breakfast?" he asked pleasantly, and the pair obediently stood and followed him to the dining hall, not remembering anything after dinner the night before.

Harry's first realization was that his chest ached horribly with each ragged breath he tried to take. His second was that his arms felt as though they were on fire and the final was that he was incredibly weak, so much so that it took nearly a dozen attempts before he was able to wrench his tired eyes open to be met with the sight of near darkness. Attempting to take a deep breath to calm his trembling muscles proved to be a terrible mistake as his entire body was racked with violent coughs that caused sharp stabs of pain to travel from his throbbing head to his toes and making his sore chest and stomach contract in even more pain.

"Harry, drink this" said a voice from his right that he was having trouble identifying at the moment, but he obligingly opened his mouth when he felt smooth glass as his lips and after sputtering over the potion, he managed to swallow most of it and several moments later, his body became pleasantly numb and he was able to focus on the faces above him.

"Poppy, Sirius" he acknowledged them, hating how raspy his voice sounded "How long?" he questioned immediately.

"Six days" responded Sirius promptly, this being a ritual that the pair had gotten into years ago and continued to this day whenever one of them would have a quidditch accident or any other injury that left them unconscious in the hospital wing.

"Lily and James?"

"We were hoping you could tell us, they weren't in the graveyard when you were found"

"He still has them then, it didn't work?" said Harry more to himself

"What do you mean?"

"I couldn't curse him in front of them, it would just make them think I was evil" he explained, the words making perfect sense in his head, but causing some confusion to Sirius who decided to wait until later to further that conversation.

"Ginny?"

"Asleep in your rooms, it's three in the morning"

"How bad is it?"

"Any longer and you wouldn't be here. You were suffering from aftereffects of the Cruciatus and had many broken bones and severe bruising as well as the damage done by your sword. All of that is easily enough healed, but for some reason, your magical reserves are near nothing and physically you are far beyond exhausted for some reason I can't figure out. Lastly, you have third degree burns on both of your arms that will not heal" she finished, trying to be official, but obviously worried for one of her all time favorite students and now a good friend.

"That bastard" he muttered under his breath

"What are you talking about Harry?"

"These" he said tiredly, gesturing to the bands encircling both of his wrists

"What do you mean?"

"He activated them somehow, and added more spells into them than Voldemort had put on them initially" he explained, and after a few moments of thought, what he was saying clicked in the minds of the pair standing beside his bed.

"Are you saying that those are why you are so weak right now?"

"Yes, as well as the burns. He spelled them so that they block my magic as well as my energy, just like last time, but he said he added a few spells of his own"

"What spells did he add?"

"I don't know, other that the burning, I can't tell a difference between now and then" he answered honestly, but he felt the little energy he had leaving him quickly and the others realized this as well.

"Go to sleep, Harry Ginny will be here in the morning and we'll talk more then" said Sirius and before the words had left his mouth, his godson was asleep.

A/n-yes it's short, but at least it's updated after so long. More will follow soon!


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